Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Ann McKechin: In session 2008-09, 32 named day parliamentary questions were tabled to the Scotland Office. 75 per cent. received a substantive answer on the named day.
	Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the 'Guide to Parliamentary Work', at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on Written Parliamentary questions, the Government accept the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

Civil Servants: Allowances

John Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the business expenses incurred by senior civil servants in his Department will be published on his Department's website.

Chris Mole: Business expenses incurred by Department for Transport senior civil servants were published on our website on 9 December 2009:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/howthedftworks/costs/
	Additional information in the form of a departmental senior civil servant hospitality register will be published shortly, although a release date currently to be confirmed.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Chris Mole: Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on Freedom of Information in central Government for 2008 show that a total of 1,964 non-routine requests were received by the Department for Transport (based on aggregated quarterly data), 85 per cent. (1,679) received a substantive response within 20 days. 89 per cent. (1,751) of requests were dealt with 'in time', that is within 20 days by meeting the deadline or other permitted extension deadlines.
	The statistics can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	and copies are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Chris Mole: Tables have been placed in the Libraries of the House showing a list of websites currently operated by the Department for Transport and its Agencies who have undertaken a redesign since 27 June 2007; the cost of the redesign and subsequent date of completion. Costs provided are those incurred by external suppliers and do not include internal staff costs. To provide internal staff costs would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent in Wales in each financial year since 1997; and what major projects in Wales received funding from his Department in each of those years.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport publishes estimates of its Total Expenditure on Services per head by region and country in its Annual Report. These figures rest on a number of assumptions, for example about how total expenditure on strategic highways and rail should be attributed to different regions.
	These figures exclude grant to local authorities, as this information is collated separately by the Department for Communities and Local Government, Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department for Work and Pensions and devolved administrations.
	The Total Expenditure on Services attributed to Wales by the Department since its formation in May 2002 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 165.8 
			 2003-04 138.6 
			 2004-05 172.8 
			 2005-06 161.4 
			 2006-07 138.4 
			 2007-08 136.0 
		
	
	Further details of total expenditure on Wales can be found in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) published by HM Treasury.
	Details of expenditure on individual major projects should be sought from the devolved administration for Wales.

Public Transport: Public Expenditure

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much direct Government funding has been allocated to public transport schemes in  (a) Merseyside,  (b) Manchester and  (c) West Yorkshire since 2006.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport (DFT) allocates integrated transport block (IT Block) funding to local transport authorities for smaller transport schemes costing less than £5 million. This funding is not ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities, including public transport schemes. Local transport authorities can apply for additional
	funding for specific major projects. The Government also provide rural bus subsidy grant which helps local authorities to support rural bus services in England.
	The Department has provided the following funding for the support of public transport schemes in Merseyside, Manchester and West Yorkshire. The figures are £ millions.
	
		
			  (a) Merseyside 
			  £ million 
			   IT Block  Major schemes  Bus subsidy  Total 
			 2008-09 34.55 0 0.14 34.69 
			 2007-08 36.50 0 0.14 36.64 
			 2006-07 33.02 0 0.14 33.16 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Manchester 
			  £ million 
			   IT Block  Major schemes  Bus subsidy  Total 
			 2008-09 45.71 95.60 0.32 141.63 
			 2007-08 46.38 40.10 0.31 86.79 
			 2006-07 39.91 13.60 0.30 53.81 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) West Yorkshire 
			  £ million 
			   IT Block  Major schemes  Bus subsidy  Total 
			 2008-09 29.45 0.50 1.10 31.05 
			 2007-08 27.96 0.70 1.07 29.73 
			 2006-07 28.49 6.30 1.04 35.83 
		
	
	In addition, the Government subsidise bus services in England through the Department's Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). BSOG is paid directly to operators of local bus services and funding figures are unavailable by geographic region.
	Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's formula grant.
	DFT funding for rail projects is not available on the basis of local authority boundaries.

Railway Stations: Repairs and Maintenance

Mark Hunter: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of financial support for station improvements identified for priority improvement by the Station Champions that will come from  (a) local authorities,  (b) industry and  (c) central government;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of financial support for station improvements at Stockport Railway Station which will come from  (a) local authorities,  (b) rail industry and  (c) central government;
	(3)  whether station improvements on the 10 major interchange stations identified for priority improvement by the Station Champions would go ahead without financial support from local government and industry;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of the ability of  (a) local authorities and  (b) local industry to provide financial support for station improvements at railway stations as part of the new £50 million fund;
	(5)  by what date he expects to announce the amount of funding from the new £50 million fund to be distributed for station improvements at Stockport railway station.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has agreed with Network Rail that they will make up to £50 million available in the near future to tackle improvements at the 10 key stations, including Stockport, identified in the Station Champions' report as being in most need of improvement.
	We are challenging the industry and local government to raise part of the money required for each of these stations themselves to help us maximise the impact of the £50 million. At this stage it is not possible to anticipate the proportion of funding that will come from Network Rail, industry and local government either at Stockport or at any of the other priority stations. However, we are expecting third party funding to be a key feature of those schemes that are taken forward. We realise that seeking additional funding in the current economic climate may be difficult, but this is crucial in maximising the benefit of the schemes.
	We are keen for improvements at these stations to begin as soon as possible, and anticipate that the £50 million will be used as part of a rolling programme before 2014. Announcements will be made as improvement packages at individual stations are agreed.

Roads: Accidents

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  how many accidents involving vehicles in the other motor vehicle category have been recorded by his Department in each of the last five years;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2009,  Official Report, column 264W, on invalid vehicles: accidents, which types of vehicle his Department includes in the other motor vehicle category.

Paul Clark: The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving vehicles in the 'other motor vehicles' category in each of the last five years is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Reported personal injury road accidents involving 'other motor vehicles': Great Britain, 2004-08 
			   Number 
			 2004 3,788 
			 2005 2,078 
			 2006 1,970 
			 2007 2,971 
			 2008 3,238 
		
	
	Other motor vehicles are types of motor vehicle that do not fall into any of the main categories recorded by the police. Examples include ambulances, fire engines, motor caravans, motorised wheel chairs and quad bikes. Details of what vehicles are included in the main categories, together with further examples of other motor vehicles, can be found on pages 44 and 45 of the 'Instructions for the Completion of Road Accident Reports', which is on the Department's website at the following link:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/s20instructionsforthecom5094.pdf

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Olympics with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 3 February 2009,  Official Report, column 976W, on departmental public relations, which public relations consultancy was hired; for what purpose; and what consideration was given to undertaking the activity using Government press officers.

Tessa Jowell: Fleishman-Hillard Group Limited were procured to provide a consultancy service, which included research and communications advice.
	Government Press Officers were not considered for this role as the service required did not involve media work and was therefore outside press officers expertise.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Peter Hain: In the last three years, civil servants in my Department have only attended one overseas ministerial conference, for e-Inclusion in November 2008. The cost to the public purse was £275.90.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on  (a) alcohol and  (b) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Peter Hain: In the past 12 months my Department has spent £308.86 on alcohol and £1,851 on entertainment. The costs for the alcohol and the majority of the entertainment were for hosting two ministerial receptions. The additional entertainment expenditure was for hosting a tea party for Latch a Welsh children's cancer charity.

Out of Area Treatment

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients resident in England have received medical  (a) treatment and  (b) consultation in Wales in each year since 1997.

Peter Hain: The following figures represent the published total number of all non-welsh residents admitted for treatment in Welsh trusts for the periods 1999-2000 to 2008-09 but exclude out-patients. Reliable data prior to 1999 are not available. It is not currently possible to provide information on non-welsh residents treated as out-patients at Welsh trusts. In the time available it has not proved possible to separate out the number of English residents treated as in-patients at Welsh Trusts but I will write to the hon. Member with this information as soon it is available and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	
		
			  Period  Number of patients 
			 1999-2000 9,890 
			 2000-01 9,829 
			 2001-02 10,689 
			 2002-03 10,491 
			 2003-04 10,539 
			 2004-05 10,340 
			 2005-06 12,671 
			 2006-07 12,671 
			 2007-08 12,537 
			 2008-09 11,468 
		
	
	The information is drawn from tables available at
	http://www.infoandstats.wales.nhs.uk/home.cfm?orgid=869
	Due to a change in the procedures for recording the information figures from 2005 onwards include day-case patients that may have been excluded from statistics in earlier years answered 14 December 2009

Common Land: Property Development

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes he plans to propose to guidelines on town and village greens to prevent their application to land which already has planning permission for development.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA recently received the final report of research into the registration of new town or village greens: 'Study of registered town and village greens and the attitudes towards applications'. A summary of the research, together with the final report, is available on the DEFRA website.
	The findings of the research, as well as feedback from local authorities and others, lead me to conclude that there is sufficient evidence to justify a review of the existing system, with a view to exploring possible changes. Therefore, DEFRA plans to consult in spring 2010 on whether there is a need for reform of the registration system, and the options for reform that exist.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments the Commission for Rural Communities has made to Connect Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Dan Norris: DEFRA sponsors the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC)-a non-departmental public body which acts as an independent rural adviser, advocate and watchdog, with a particular focus on social disadvantage and economic underperformance. The CRC is tasked to advise and challenge the Government and delivery bodies at all levels to improve performance and embed best practice. The functions of the CRC are specified in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006.
	During the last 12 months, the CRC has paid Connect Public Affairs £25,329.83 for events management and communications support relating to the CRC's activities in raising awareness of the needs of rural people, in line with the NERC Act, at all three major 2008 party conferences. The CRC adhered to Cabinet Office 'NDPBs: Attendance at Party Conferences' guidance in relation to these events. No contracts have been entered into and no payments made during the current financial year.
	Due to commercial sensitivity and constraints, I am unable to place a copy of the contract between the CRC and Connect Public Affairs in the Library.

Forests: Disease Control

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to reduce the spread of pests and diseases of woodland trees.

Dan Norris: holding answer 10 December 2009
	 The Forestry Commission, through its Forest Research Agency, is carrying out research into a number of pests and diseases of trees including, more recently, increased investigation into Acute Oak Decline. It is also continuing collaborative research into a better understanding of the diseases caused by  Phytophthora ramorum and  P. kernoviae as part of the five-year programme announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy) on 3 March 2009.
	The Forestry Commission has also recently set up a Biosecurity Programme Board with representation from key partners in the forest industry sector. The board will advise the Forestry Commissioners on how best to deliver a programme of protecting trees and woodlands against pests and diseases. This will be set out in a new Plant Health Strategy the Commission is helping to develop which it intends to publish in 2010.

Hydrofluorocarbons: Government Departments

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress by departments in reducing the use of hydrofluorocarbons on their estate; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: The Government's view is that the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) with high global warming potential is not sustainable in the long term. The Government's 'Buy Sustainable: Quick Wins' procurement standards state that HFCs should only be used where other safe, technically feasible, cost-effective and more environmentally acceptable alternatives do not exist. All central Government Departments are required to comply with these procurement standards. Support for delivery and compliance with Quick Wins by central Government Departments is overseen by the Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement in the Office of Government Commerce.
	Data are not collected centrally on HFC use or emissions but the Government are currently reviewing the targets for the sustainable operations on the Government estate, and are considering expanding the scope of the climate change targets to include the six key greenhouse gases, including HFCs, in departmental carbon budget allocations for estate and operations from 2012 onwards.

Origin Marking: Israel

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State of 2 December 2009,  Official Report, column 106WH, if he will make it his policy to include in the guidance on the voluntary labelling of produce imported from the Golan the description made in occupied Syrian land.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tabled a written ministerial statement on 10 December 2009 concerning technical advice on the labelling of produce from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). That advice has been issued in response to consumer and retailer concern about a lack of clarity on whether such produce comes from Israeli settlements or Palestinian producers. The situation in Israeli occupied Golan is quite different: we are not aware that there is such confusion between different producers, and we have not received representations from consumers or retailers. Therefore, the Government have not addressed the issue of produce imported from the Israeli occupied Golan in the technical advice to which I have referred.

Waste and Resources Action Programme: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 13 July 2009,  Official Report, column 15W, on Waste and Resources Action Programme, if he will undertake an investigation into the appropriateness of the Waste and Resources Action Programme hiring Chelgate public affairs to lobby hon. Members and noble Lords.

Dan Norris: Chelgate was contracted by WRAP for a period of six months to organise a series of meetings with parliamentarians from all three major parties, where WRAP explained its role and functions. No lobbying took place at any time.

Young People: Driving Offences

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many school pupils in Northern Ireland were convicted of  (a) a motoring offence that resulted in a fatality and  (b) careless driving in each of the last two years.

Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the format requested as it is not possible to determine from conviction data the number of offenders, convicted of motoring offences causing death and offences related to careless driving, who were school pupils. It is only possible to give the number of persons aged 18 and under (at date of offence), of whom school pupils may be a subset, convicted for these offences. Figures for these are documented in the following table.
	Data cover the calendar years 2005 and 2006 (the latest year for which figures are available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	
		
			  Number aged 18 and under( 1 ) convicted of motoring offences causing death and careless driving/driving without due care and attention 2005-06 
			   Motoring offences causing death  Careless driving/driving without due care and attention( 2, 3, 4) 
			 2005 1 130 
			 2006 2 144 
			 (1) Based on the age at date of offence. (2) 2005 figure includes three convictions for the offence 'driving without reasonable consideration for others' and one for 'causing grievous bodily injury' by driving carelessly with excess alcohol'. (3) 2006 figure includes one conviction for the offence 'driving without reasonable consideration for others'. (4) Excludes careless driving offences causing death and dangerous driving offences.

Departmental Manpower

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff of his Department were in its redeployment pool on 1  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009.

Si�n Simon: Our redeployment policy only came into effect on 13 May 2009. There after in July  (c) there were seven members of staff in the redeployment pool. In October  (d) this reduced to three members of staff in the redeployment pool.

Better Communication Action Plan

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in implementing the Better Communication Action Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress the Government has made in its response to the Bercow Report on services for children and young people with speech, language and communications needs.

Diana Johnson: Following the Bercow review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), the Government published Better Communication: An action plan to improve services for children and young people with SLCN, backed by £12 million investment.
	As part of the action plan, the Department of Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health have chosen 16 local areas to become SLCN commissioning pathfinders. The 16 pilot areas have been chosen to identify good practice in providing support for children with SLCN through the joint working of organisations such as primary care trusts and local authorities. This will be used to develop a national framework to improve the way services are delivered for children across the country.
	Jean Gross was announced as the communication champion on 15 October 2009, and we have established the Communication Council, which met for the first time on 21 September 2009, to support initiatives to improve services for children with SLCN. As communication champion, Jean Gross will raise awareness of the importance of communication, share good practice and lead delivery of a national year.
	In addition, the University of Warwick has been selected to lead a consortium delivering a three year research programme on the cost-effectiveness of interventions and to guide the development of future policy and practice in providing services for children and young people with SLCN.
	12 organisations working to support children with alternative and augmentative communication needs have been chosen to share grants totalling £500,000 this year as part of Becta's commitment to provide £1.5 million of funding over the next three years. These grants aim to support delivery and provision of services.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc.

Diana Johnson: A complete answer to this question could be supplied only at disproportionate cost. I can tell you, however, that the Department spent the following amounts with Capita over the past five years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 205,305,614 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 119,837,133 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 115,531,705 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 135,694,436 
			 April 2009 to October 2009 71,155,087 
		
	
	Total payments made to Capita during the period was £647,523,975.
	The Department currently holds 15 direct contracts with Capita Group with a total value worth £82million and 48 contracts through a framework agreement with The Department for Works and Pensions. It would not be possible to identify how much has been paid against these contracts without disproportionate costs.

Children: Protection

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to  (a) improve and  (b) encourage information sharing between (i) local authorities, (ii) police forces, (iii) the Probation Service and (iv) NHS services when assessing risks to children.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government recognise the importance of effective and appropriate information sharing to help those who need additional services and in safeguarding and promoting their welfare. Information sharing between practitioners is an essential part of building a complete picture of the situation, being able to correctly assess the risks and in enabling effective early intervention to help improve outcomes for all.
	While there is already much good practice in information sharing and growing evidence of increasing confidence among practitioners, we recognise that in some situations practitioners are still unsure when they can share information lawfully. The Government are continuing to work with partners across all sectors, to raise awareness of good information sharing practice and to promote the guidance and training materials that support it.
	HM Government's Information Sharing: Guidance for Practitioners and Managers which is for practitioners across children's and adult's services (including local authorities, police forces, the probation service and the NHS), was developed and published in October 2008 by a cross-Government team.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) led this work, in association with representatives of other Government Departments including Department of Health (DH), Cabinet Office, Home Office (HO) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The guidance, together with additional supporting materials, can be found on the DCSF website at:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/ecm/informationsharing
	It explains when and how information can be shared legally and professionally, in order to achieve improved outcomes. It also advises how organisations should support practitioners to embed appropriate information sharing practices, including in national standards and codes of practice, where appropriate.
	The National Safeguarding Delivery Unit (NSDU) was established in response to the recommendations made in Lord Laming's The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report (2009) to provide a strong, co-ordinated strategic lead across four Departments (DCSF, MOJ, HO and DH). As part of its programme of activity, the unit is taking forward work to help embed good information sharing practice.
	The Department has also developed a set of tools to make it easier for practitioners to work together and share information appropriately. These include ContactPoint, which is an online directory that provides a quick way for authorised practitioners to find out who else is working with the same child, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) to help practitioners assess children and young people's additional needs, develop a common understanding of those needs and how to work together to meet them, and National eCAF, which is currently in development and will be a secure IT system for storing and accessing information captured through the CAF.

Community Relations: Religion

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1120W, on community relations: faith schools, if he will assess the effect on community cohesion of faith schools; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not currently hold data or have any mechanisms in place to assess the effect of faith schools on levels of cohesion in particular areas.
	All maintained schools in England have had a duty to promote community cohesion since September 2007. This has been inspected by Ofsted since September 2008. Data are therefore available on Ofsted's judgment of how schools are performing in fulfilling that duty and many faith schools are included in those receiving good or outstanding. The judgment relates to the contribution an individual school is making given its local context. Schools are not held accountable for the level of cohesion in a local area which will be influenced by a large number of factors.
	As part of the Department's work to support schools in meeting their duty to promote community cohesion, the Department's officials have commissioned Ipsos/Mori to assess the impact of the community cohesion duty on different types of maintained schools which includes faith schools. The findings from the study will be published in autumn 2010.

Departmental Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much his Department plans to spend on the Aiming Higher for Disabled Children block of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11;
	(2)  how much was spent on the Aiming Higher for Disabled Children block of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant in each financial year between 2003-04 and 2008-09.

Diana Johnson: A breakdown of the Department's Aiming Higher for Disabled Children block of its Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant to local authorities is given in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Revenue 261,541 17,866,495 78,927,431 178,352,610 
			 Capital 0 4,497,000 32,999,700 52,480,500 
			 Total 261,541 22,363,495 111,972,131 230,833,110 
		
	
	There was no funding for the Aiming High for Disabled Children Programme before 2007-08. The figure for 2007-08 is the funding given to 21 pathfinder local authorities in that year and represents actual spend. Figures for 2008-11 are planned spend. This is the latest data the Department holds.

Education: Class Sizes

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what his Department's most recent estimate is of the average class size in secondary schools;
	(2)  what his Department's most recent estimate is of the average class size in primary schools.

Diana Johnson: Final information on average class size for 2009 was published on 11 August 2009 as an update to the Statistical First Release 'Schools, Pupils and Their Characteristics: January 2009' (which was originally published on 13 May 2009) and can be found in Table 8 at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000843/index.shtml

Every Child A Talker Programme

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of money from the Every Child A Talker programme has been allocated to  (a) local authorities and  (b) national strategies;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made under the Every Child A Talker programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many children in England have received support through the Every Child A Talker programme;
	(4)  how much has been spent on the Every Child A Talker programme to date.

Diana Johnson: A total of £41.2 million over a three-year period has been made available to all local authorities as part of the Every Child a Talker programme. This includes up to £50,000 per year for each local authority (and slightly more for areas where it is more expensive to recruit and retain staff) to employ an early language consultant.
	The rest of the funding-the majority-is for staff in early years settings to access training and professional development. There is no local authority spending data yet available for the period covering ECaT since its launch in September 2008.
	None of the £41.2 million was allocated to National Strategies. Their role in supporting LAs to implement the ECaT programme is part of their ongoing contract with the Department.
	We do not have details of the number of children who have received support through ECaT as the programme is aimed at improving practitioners' understanding of early language development so that they can focus on raising the speaking and listening skills of children in settings where there is the greatest need. Over 3,500 practitioners will receive training and support through the programme.
	The programme has been widely welcomed by participating local authorities, who have recruited early language consultants and are working with targeted settings. Because of the age of the children expected to benefit from the programme, we do not expect to see a significant impact on Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results until 2010. However, it is encouraging to see significant improvements in the 2009 results of many of the local authorities involved in the first wave of the programme.

Extracurricular Activities

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) out-of-school and  (b) holiday play schemes there were in (i) each local authority area in the North West and (ii) England in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: The following shows the number of out of school clubs in England, and each local authority area in the north-west Government office region in each of the last five years for which data were collected. The last year that Ofsted collected information on out of school clubs was 2008 as changes in legislation meant that new categories were introduced for the collection of child care data.
	Information on the number of holiday play schemes is not available as Ofsted do not collect these data.
	
		
			  Number( 1)  of out of school clubs for children under eight years of age 
			  Position at 31 March each year  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 England 9,200 9,700 10,500 10,600 10,700 
			   
			 Blackburn with Darwen 30 30 30 30 20 
			 Blackpool 30 30 30 40 40 
			 Bolton 60 70 70 80 80 
			 Bury 60 70 70 80 80 
			 Cheshire 200 200 200 200 200 
			 Cumbria 100 100 100 100 100 
			 Halton 40 30 30 30 30 
			 Knowsley 40 50 50 50 50 
			 Lancashire 200 300 300 300 300 
			 Liverpool 80 100 100 100 100 
			 Manchester 100 100 100 100 100 
			 Oldham 50 60 70 70 70 
			 Rochdale 50 50 50 50 50 
			 Salford 60 60 60 60 70 
			 Sefton 40 50 60 60 70 
			 St. Helens 30 40 50 60 60 
			 Stockport 60 70 80 80 80 
			 Tameside 40 50 60 60 60 
			 Trafford 60 60 70 70 70 
			 Warrington 80 70 90 70 70 
			 Wigan 60 60 70 70 70 
			 Wirral 70 80 80 80 80 
			 (1) Figures over 100 have been rounded to the nearest 100 and figures under 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Ofsted

Free School Meals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of students in school sixth forms were entitled to free school meals in the latest 12 month period for which data is available; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  State-funded secondary schools( 1, 2) : School meal arrangements of sixth-form pupils( 3, 4, ) as at January 2009, in England 
			   Number/percentage 
			 All pupils 391,660 
			 Pupils eligible for free school meals 20,470 
			 Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals 5.2 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Include city technology colleges and academies. (3) Sole and dual (main) registrations. (4) Sixth form defined as pupils in National Curriculum year groups 12, 13 and 14.  Source: School Census. 
		
	
	Pupils are recorded as eligible only if a claim for free school meals has been made by them or on their behalf by parents and either (a) the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility and a free school meal is currently being provided for them, or (b) the school or the local authority have seen the necessary documentation that supports their eligibility, and the administration of the free meal is to follow as a matter of process. It is not known how many pupils could be eligible but are not submitting a claim.

Gifted Children: Kent

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils at schools in Ashford constituency have participated in the gifted and talented programme in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not collect data about participation in gifted and talented programmes. Through the School Census schools are asked to confirm the number of gifted and talented pupils they have identified. The following tables provide data on how many children were identified as gifted and talented in the January census between 2006, when the question was first asked, and 2009.
	2006 records include secondary gifted and talented pupil data only. Otherwise, figures include primary(1) and secondary(1, 2) school data broken down by the number(3) and percentage of gifted and talented pupils.
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools( 1) ,( ) number and percentage( 2)  of gifted and talented pupils( 3, 4) 
			   Ashford 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 2006 n/a n/a 
			 2007 980 10.1 
			 2008 1,170 12.1 
			 2009 1,150 11.8 
		
	
	
		
			  State funded secondary schools( 1,5) , number and percentage of gifted and talented pupils( 2, 3) 
			   Ashford 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 2006 370 5 
			 2007 1,070 14.3 
			 2008 1,280 16.9 
			 2009 1,950 25.6 
			 (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )The number of gifted and talented pupils expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in the same cohort. (3 )Headcount of pupils. (4 )Excludes dual registrations. (5 )Includes CTCs and academies.

Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009,  Official Report, column 799W, on Office for Criminal Justice Reform, for what reason data from 1997 to 1999 are currently unavailable in that format.

Dawn Primarolo: Live Police National Computer (PNC) data was first collected in 1995. Between 1997 and 1999 work was ongoing to improve the quality of the data collection in order to bring it to a standard sufficient to support the publication of statistics by local authority.
	The first year this data became available for publication was for 2000-01.

Pre-School Education: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will estimate the cost of extending the pre-school entitlement for three to five year olds to 48 weeks a year; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: From September 2010 all eligible children will be entitled to 15 hours a week of free provision over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year offered on a more flexible basis to better meet families' needs.
	We are not extending the free entitlement to 48 weeks of the year. However, in 'Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare' (January 2009) we committed to ensuring that parents will have the choice to stretch the free entitlement over more than 38 weeks, enabling them to take fewer hours per week over more weeks of the year. This will support parents to cover holidays, keep costs constant and help them to budget more consistently. Over 48 weeks, a stretched entitlement would equate to just under 12 hours a week.

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many local education authorities have a percentage of surplus places of at least 10; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of surplus school places through an annual survey. The most recent data available relates to the position at January 2008.
	The following tables show the number of local authorities with a percentage of surplus places of 10 or above at primary level and those with a percentage of surplus of 10 or above at secondary level.
	
		
			  Primary 
			  LA  Surplus ( percentage ) 
			 Barnsley 10 
			 Bedfordshire 13 
			 Bournemouth 13 
			 Bracknell Forest 10 
			 Brighton and Hove 11 
			 Bristol 11 
			 Bromley 10 
			 Buckinghamshire 11 
			 Calderdale 11 
			 Cambridgeshire 12 
			 Cheshire 13 
			 Cornwall 10 
			 Cumbria 10 
			 Derby City of 13 
			 Derbyshire 13 
			 Doncaster 16 
			 Dorset 15 
			 Dudley 10 
			 Durham 16 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 12 
			 East Sussex 10 
			 Essex 12 
			 Gateshead 13 
			 Gloucestershire 12 
			 Greenwich 12 
			 Hackney 11 
			 Halton 13 
			 Hampshire 11 
			 Harrow 13 
			 Hartlepool 11 
			 Havering 11 
			 Herefordshire 16 
			 Hertfordshire 12 
			 Hillingdon 11 
			 Hounslow 10 
			 Isle of Wight 22 
			 Islington 13 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 10 
			 Kent 10 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of 11 
			 Kirklees 12 
			 Knowsley 22 
			 Lancashire 15 
			 Leeds 11 
			 Leicester City of 10 
			 Leicestershire 12 
			 Lewisham 12 
			 Liverpool 13 
			 Manchester 11 
			 Medway Towns 12 
			 Merton 13 
			 Middlesbrough 18 
			 Milton Keynes 14 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 15 
			 Newham 10 
			 Norfolk 14 
			 North East Lincolnshire 15 
			 North Lincolnshire 11 
			 North Tyneside 20 
			 North Yorkshire 18 
			 Northamptonshire 12 
			 Northumberland 19 
			 Nottingham City of 19 
			 Nottinghamshire 13 
			 Oxfordshire 10 
			 Peterborough 11 
			 Plymouth City of 13 
			 Portsmouth 14 
			 Reading 15 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 14 
			 Rochdale 11 
			 Rotherham 11 
			 Rutland 24 
			 Salford 15 
			 Sandwell 13 
			 Sefton 12 
			 Sheffield 12 
			 Shropshire 15 
			 Solihull 12 
			 Somerset 10 
			 South Gloucestershire 13 
			 South Tyneside 19 
			 Southampton 14 
			 Southwark 15 
			 Staffordshire 14 
			 Stockport 10 
			 Stockton on Tees 11 
			 Stoke on Trent 13 
			 Suffolk 18 
			 Sunderland 14 
			 Swindon 11 
			 The Wrekin 12 
			 Thurrock 13 
			 Wakefield 17 
			 Walsall 10 
			 Warrington 14 
			 Warwickshire 12 
			 West Sussex 11 
			 Wiltshire 16 
			 Wirral 14 
			 Wolverhampton 16 
			 Worcestershire 11 
			 York 13 
			 Total LAs 103 
		
	
	
		
			  Secondary 
			  LA  Surplus  (percentage) 
			 Barnet 10 
			 Bracknell Forest 10 
			 Bradford 10 
			 Bristol 21 
			 Croydon 11 
			 Cumbria 10 
			 Doncaster 10 
			 Dorset 10 
			 Durham 14 
			 Gateshead 10 
			 Greenwich 14 
			 Hackney 15 
			 Halton 12 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 17 
			 Hertfordshire 10 
			 Hillingdon 13 
			 Isle of Wight 15 
			 Islington 11 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of 10 
			 Kirklees 10 
			 Knowsley 24 
			 Lancashire 12 
			 Leicester City 10 
			 Lewisham 17 
			 Liverpool 11 
			 Manchester 11 
			 Medway Towns 10 
			 Middlesbrough 14 
			 Milton Keynes 12 
			 Newham 10 
			 North East Lincolnshire 20 
			 North Lincolnshire 12 
			 North Yorkshire 11 
			 Northumberland 15 
			 Nottingham City of 22 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 
			 Oxfordshire 12 
			 Peterborough 11 
			 Portsmouth 11 
			 Reading 16 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 10 
			 Richmond upon Thames 13 
			 Rochdale 13 
			 Rutland 12 
			 Salford 19 
			 Sefton 11 
			 South Gloucestershire 12 
			 Southampton 20 
			 Stockton on Tees 11 
			 Stoke on Trent 14 
			 Suffolk 12 
			 Sunderland 15 
			 Torbay 13 
			 Trafford 10 
			 Wandsworth 11 
			 Wiltshire 11 
			 Wirral 13 
			 Wolverhampton 14 
			 Total LAs 58

Schools: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in  (a) Enfield North constituency and  (b) the London borough of Enfield are below the National Challenge Benchmark following 2009 GCSE results.

Vernon Coaker: Individual school results for the 2008/09 academic year are not available until the publication of the Achievement and Attainment Tables in January 2010. In 2008 there were three schools in the London borough of Enfield that had fewer than 30 per cent. of its pupils at the end of Key Stage 4, achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and mathematics, of which one school was in the Enfield North constituency.

Secondary Education: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the written ministerial statement of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 61-2WS, on secondary school improvement, what schools are classified as coasting in each local authority; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Gaining Ground strategy is locally driven. Local authorities were asked to identify schools in their area that might benefit from the Support available. Schools were considered for the programme if their attainment was above 30 per cent. A*-C GCSEs including English and maths and their progression between key stage 2 (age 11) and key stage 4 (age 16) was below average with little improvement over at least three years. Local authorities also considered other criteria such as whether the school placed an equal emphasis on progression and attainment.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from what budgets funding is drawn for  (a) improved special educational needs (SEN) training,  (b) the Achievement for All programme,  (c) further SEN support and  (d) the implementation of the recommendations of the Bercow Review.

Diana Johnson: The funding is drawn from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Division's delegated budget within the Children and Families Directorate in the Department. Department of Health budgets are also supporting the implementation of the 'Better Communication Action Plan', the Government's response to the Bercow Review.

Special Educational Needs: Young Offenders

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many posts there were for learning support assistants in  (a) young offender institutions and  (b) secure training centres in England and Wales (i) on the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) on the same date in each of the last five years; and how many such posts were vacant in each case.

Vernon Coaker: Figures for the number of Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) across the youth justice secure estate are not routinely recorded centrally. However information from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) indicates that in September 2009, there were 153 LSC funded LSAs in the 14 public sector Prison Service YOIs in England, and the LSC is not aware of any current vacancies for LSAs in these establishments.
	This information is not collected centrally for the two privately managed YOIs (one of which is in Wales) and the four secure training centres.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he will respond to question 301338, tabled by the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire on 19 November 2009, on departmental working practices.

Diana Johnson: The Department has responded to the hon. Member today.

Chequers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Prime Minister which special advisers have been admitted to  (a) the grounds and  (b) the premises of Chequers on occasions when the Prime Minister (i) was and (ii) was not present in each year since 2006; what the dates of each such admission were; and on how many such occasions special advisers were admitted to Chequers and did not receive official hospitality.

Gordon Brown: I refer you to my answer of 2 December 2009,  Official Report, column 760W. As has been the case under successive administrations, Chequers can be used for meetings and hospitality.

Members: Allowances

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons legislation to implement the recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life on hon. Members' expenses and allowances was not included in the Government's legislative programme announced in the Queen's Speech.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 10 December 2009,  Official Report, column 33WS.

Parliamentary Private Secretaries

Nick Hurd: To ask the Prime Minister with reference to his answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 18 June 2009,  Official Report, column 454W, on parliamentary private secretaries, when he expects an up-to-date list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries to be published.

Gordon Brown: Details of Parliamentary Private Secretaries are available in Vacher's.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to appoint a chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

Alan Johnson: I met with the ACMD on 10 November and outlined the process for the appointment of a new Chair. My officials are currently pursuing options for appointing the new Chair with the Office for the Commissioner of Public Appointments and with the ACMD. Following these discussions I will be able to confirm timings.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the minutes of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs meeting in November 2008 are not available.

Alan Campbell: The minutes of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs meeting held on 25November 2008 are published on the ACMD website, available at:
	http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs-laws/acmd/

Animal Testing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many procedures were approved under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Meg Hillier: Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, projects are authorised containing protocols comprising one or more regulated procedures. No records are kept of the number of protocols or procedures authorised. However, in 2007 and 2008, there were 3,375 and 2,652 project licences in force at the 31 December, respectively.

Asylum: Democratic Republic of Congo

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, column 206W, on asylum: Democratic Republic of Congo, how many investigations arising from specific allegations have taken place in each of the last four years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 1 December 2009
	Since December 2006, UKBA has undertaken three investigations arising from allegations about the treatment of returned failed asylum seekers to Democratic Republic of Congo.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to his Department's Together we can end violence against women and girls strategy, how much his Department plans to spend on  (a) launching an award scheme to celebrate the achievements of local areas delivering excellence,  (b) funding the POPPY project and  (c) funding National Offender Management Service perpetrator programmes in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) each of the subsequent three years; and from what budgets such funding will be drawn.

Alan Campbell: The cross-Government strategy 'Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls' was launched on 25 November 2009.
	 (a) The departmental spend on an award scheme for local areas delivering excellence in their response to violence against women and girls will be finalised in spring 2010 by a cross-departmental delivery board. The board will have oversight of all actions in the strategy.
	 (b) Across Government, we have invested £5.8 million in the Poppy project over the last six years to provide high-level specialist support for victims trafficked into sexual exploitation. A further £3.7 million investment will be made in the period 2009-10 to 2010-11 to the Poppy project for specialist victim services for victims of sexual exploitation and domestic servitude.
	 (c) Probation boards fund the cost of delivering accredited perpetrator programmes including for domestic and sexual violence perpetrators through their main grant, and funding for the delivery of accredited offending behaviour programmes in custody is built into prison baselines.

Departmental Security

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what security requirements are made by his Department in respect of  (a) people employed to provide audio transcription services to his Department from home,  (b) the premises in which work to provide such services is carried out and  (c) arrangements for the transfer of data between such premises and his Department.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The Department does not currently have in place contracts for the provision of home-working based audio transcription services.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to people from each non-EU country in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The information requested has been placed in the House Library. The enclosed table, shows the number of student visas and student dependent visas issued to each non-EU nationality in the five year period from October 2004 to September 2009.

Entry Clearances: Pakistan

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals there were against the refusal of an application for a visit visa from a Pakistani national in each year between 2004 and 2008; what the cost to the public purse was of such appeals; and how many such appeals resulted in an application being granted.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 7 December 2009
	Only family visits carry full rights of appeal. The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			   Family visit visa refusals  Appeals  Allowed appeals 
			 2004 7,256 8,090 3,556 
			 2005 26,359 14,495 5,026 
			 2006 29,197 23,348 7,315 
			 2007 31,903 27,740 9,386 
			 2008 24,076 26,379 10,540 
			  Notes: 1. This data is unpublished and should be treated as provisional. 2. There is only a full right of appeal against the refusal of family visit visas.

Heads of Government

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of former foreign heads of government who are resident in the UK; and whether any cost arising from their residence is borne by the public purse.

Phil Woolas: No information is held on former foreign heads of government who may be resident in the UK.

Offenders

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prolific and priority offenders are targeted by police in  (a) North Northamptonshire Basic Command Unit,  (b) Northamptonshire and  (c) England.

David Hanson: Two Prolific and other Priority Offender schemes, Corby and Wellingborough, cover the four Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in the North Northamptonshire Basic Command Unit area. The most recent performance management data show that, as at June 2009, there were 66 Prolific and other Priority Offenders in Corby and 54 in Wellingborough. The data show that there were 250 Prolific and other Priority Offenders in Northamptonshire and 10,687 across England.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs of providing policing in Essex were in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Total Gross Revenue Expenditure by Essex Police in the last three years was as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 306.1 
			 2007-08 308.7 
			 2008-09 324.7 
		
	
	The Government provide annual grant to police authorities and it is for the Chief Constable and police authorities to make the best possible use of their resources.
	In 2009-10 the general grant provided to Essex was £177.9 million. This was above the minimum 2.5 per cent. increase guaranteed to all forces. In 2010-11 the provisional settlement gives Essex Police an increase of 2.9 per cent. in general grants.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many officers of each rank in Essex Police have voluntarily ceased employment, excluding redundancy, since April 2009; [R]
	(2)  how many officials of each grade have voluntarily ceased employment, other than through redundancy, in Essex Police Authority since April 2009. [R]

David Hanson: Data since April 2009 are unavailable until headline figures are published in July 2010. The available data for the financial year 2008-09 are given in the following table.
	The Home Office does not collect data about officials of the police authority.
	
		
			  Voluntary resignations and transfers for Essex police,  2008-09( 1) 
			  Full-time equivalent 
			  Rank  Transfers  Voluntary resignations (including probationers) 
			 ACPO 1 0 
			 Chief Superintendent 0 0 
			 Superintendent 0 0 
			 Chief Inspector 1 0 
			 Inspector 1 1 
			 Sergeant 13 1 
			 Constable 72 51 
			 Total Officers 88 53 
			
			 Police Staff 0 138 
			 CSO 2 36 
			 Designated officers (s38) 0 3 
			 Traffic Warden 0 2 
			 Special Constable(2) 1 135 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures provided that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Special constable figures are given as headcount measures.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many officers at each rank were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in Essex Police in each of the last three years; how many at each rank received each type of bonus; what the average payment was for each type of bonus at each rank; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus at each rank;
	(2)  how many officials were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in Essex Police Authority, by civil service band in each of the last three years; how many people received each type of bonus, by civil service band, what the average payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band.

David Hanson: The Home Office does not hold information on officials eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in Essex police authority or in Essex police. The payment of individual bonuses is a matter for the Essex police authority and Essex police.

Population

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government has a policy on future population  (a) growth and  (b) size in the UK.

Phil Woolas: The Government do not have a policy on the UK future population growth or size, but we do have a migration policy. The new immigration system and the points-based system gives us greater control over numbers while maintaining the flexibility our economy needs.
	Net migration has fallen over the past year. Population projections provide estimates of the size of the future population based on certain assumptions and pre-existing trends, but they have not yet included the full impact of recent reductions in net migration and nor do they include the potential impacts of Government policies.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance targets the UK Border Agency has set for its Senior Civil Service members in 2009.

Phil Woolas: Performance targets for senior civil servants within the UK Border Agency are set in accordance with the Cabinet Office Guidance entitled 'Managing Performance in the Senior Civil Service' and are individual to the person and the role they perform.
	The Cabinet Office guidance requires that senior civil service objectives should include:
	Business delivery objectives-that define business outcomes for the specific post, reflecting business priorities and value for money commitments for the year ahead, linked to delivery targets and the Agency's PSAs.
	Corporate objectives-that articulate the leadership activity that contributes to the effective corporate management and coherence of a Department and/or the civil service as a whole.
	Capability objectives-to ensure that individuals, the Department and civil service have the right capability to deliver business outcomes now and in the future, including improvement of people performance management: managing talent, managing attendance and promoting well-being; and addressing poor performance. Capability targets are drawn from unit and Directorate business plans and, if appropriate, the Home Office's PSAs.
	Personal development objectives-to emphasise the importance of continuous personal development and an individual's growth in competence against the leadership and broader Professional Skills for Government frameworks. In addition, individuals are appraised on their leadership behaviour demonstrated throughout the year including providing direction for the organisation; delivering results; and building capability in the organisation to address current and future challenges.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of UK Border Agency staff have financial targets in their performance management objectives; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The setting of individual objectives in performance management reviews is a matter for individual line managers and it is not possible for this reason to state the percentage of staff with financial targets or objectives except at disproportionate costs. We do not waste taxpayers money on compiling this information.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were working at each grade in the UK Border Agency on 1 November 2009.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  United Kingdom Border Agency staff( 1) 
			   Full-time equivalent (rounded) 
			  Grade  
			 Senior Civil Service 74 
			 Grade 6 165 
			 Grade 7 544 
			 HM Inspector Immigration 213 
			 Senior Officer 151 
			 Senior Executive Officer 1,076 
			 Higher Officer 2,213 
			 Chief Immigration Officer 773 
			 Higher Executive Officer 2,090 
			 Immigration Officer 3,580 
			 Executive Officer 4,252 
			 Assistant Immigration Officer 709 
			 Administrative Officer 4,853 
			 Administrative Assistant 1,531 
			 Null/Unrecorded grade(2) 481 
			   
			  Locally engaged staff (international group)( 3)  
			  Of which:  
			 Level I 23 
			 Level II 184 
			 Level III 668 
			 Level IV 485 
			 Level V 63 
			 Total 24,128 
			 (1) Staff excludes 710 agency works. Figures as at 31 October 2009. (2) Includes approximately 350 staff whose data is unavailable except at disproportionate cost during machinery of government transfer from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. (3) Locally engaged staff work for the UK Border Agency but are employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished admission episodes to hospital there were in each strategic health authority area  (a) in total and  (b) per 100,000 of the population where an illness related to alcohol was a primary or secondary diagnosis in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The number and rate of finished admissions of patients with a primary or secondary alcohol-related diagnosis in each strategic health authority area can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Number and rate of finished admissions of patients with an alcohol-related diagnosis 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Strategic health authority  Number of  a dmissions  Rate  o f admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate  of admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate of admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate  of admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate  of admission per 100,000 population (EASR) 
			 North East 43,919 1,535 50,579 1,749 55,510 1,898 60,755 2,046 67,955 2,254 
			 North West 114,946 1,513 129,919 1,701 141,493 1,835 151,427 1,944 163,564 2,081 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 66,684 1,178 72,870 1,272 77,454 1,331 83,442 1,413 91,345 1,525 
			 East Midlands 56,928 1,159 62,722 1,260 67,710 1,343 74,340 1,452 82,047 1,560 
			 West Midlands 63,692 1,075 76,778 1,275 88,490 1,451 91,536 1,479 104,533 1,662 
			 East of England 63,472 975 72,622 1,097 77,808 1,156 84,711 1,235 91,625 1,303 
			 London 74,522 1,038 87,428 1,208 96,194 1,320 102,027 1,386 110,981 1,490 
			 South East Coast 46,802 938 54,833 1,082 60,074 1,173 66,025 1,264 71,805 1,338 
			 South Central 36,032 824 41,219 928 41,889 927 48,200 1,049 53,203 1,128 
			 South West 70,278 1,145 77,755 1,250 83,415 1,315 88,393 1,365 98,509 1,492 
			 Unknown /no fixed abode 6,908 n/a 8,787 n/a 9,082 n/a 12,400 n/a 9,656 n/a 
			 England 644,185 1,144 735,512 1,290 799,120 1,384 863,257 1,473 945,223 1,583 
			 n/a = Not applicable.  Notes: EASR - European Age-Standardised Rate. Includes activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Alcohol-specific condition Alcohol-specific conditions are those defined as wholly attributed to alcohol, based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic liver disease (K70) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Chronic pancreatitis (alcohol induced) (K86.0) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9) Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-specific primary or secondary diagnosis These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-specific diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-specific diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. It should be noted that admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.  Secondary diagnosis As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2007-08 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Assignment of Episodes to Years Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Ambulance Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the terms of reference of the National ambulance service management group.

Mike O'Brien: There is no record in the Department of any group that goes by that name.
	There is a national NHS Ambulance Chief Executives Group. This is an NHS-led group which is chaired by the chief executive of London ambulance service, Peter Bradley.

Autism

Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which Ministerial colleagues in each Department he has discussed the development in other Government departments of the Government's autism strategy.

Phil Hope: The Adult Autism Strategy spans not just health and social care but also provides a framework for services across the public sector. The Department has therefore undertaken an extensive programme of activity to ensure this work aligns with the existing work programmes of other Government Departments. Departmental officials have been working closely with colleagues across Government to assess:
	the merits of issues and proposals emerging from the consultation and external reference group or if there are more viable alternative means to deliver the same goals;
	the cost-effectiveness of options for action, and whether they can be integrated into existing budgets; and
	the scale of the offer which each Department can bring forward to improve access to services and transform and improve the life chances of people with Autistic Spectrum Condition.
	The strategy will benefit from the same cross-Government coalition which has so successfully supported the delivery of Valuing People Now.

Autism

Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to involve external stakeholders in the post-consultation development of the Government's autism strategy.

Phil Hope: From the outset, the development of the autism strategy for adults has been underpinned by the two principles of co-production and inclusivity. The public consultation on the strategy was designed to ensure that people with Autistic Spectrum Condition, their families and carers could identify the barriers to access and their key priorities for change in public services.
	The consultation which included regional events, on-line discussion forums and targeted engagement, aimed at hard-to-reach groups, received over 1,000 responses. These responses will set the direction of travel for the Autism Strategy.
	The strategy will continue to benefit from the work of its external reference group comprising service users, family carers and the voluntary sector providers as well as professionals who design, develop and provide services.
	There will be a further national consultation on the health and social care guidance, mandated by the legislation, which will accompany the strategy and is scheduled for publication in December 2012. We are equally committed to involving service users, carers and the voluntary sector in the production of the guidance.
	The third sector, including user-led organisations, has a critical role to play as ambassadors for the strategy, supporting not just design but also delivery.

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he was first informed by Monitor of changes to its assessment of the quality of governance at Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust.

Mike O'Brien: Monitor told the Department on the 25 November 2009 that it was going to intervene at Basildon and Thurrock university hospitals NHS foundation trust. This notification followed Monitor's Board meeting earlier that day, at which Monitor decided to use its statutory powers of intervention to address concerns about the trust's leadership and quality of care.

Cancer: Health Services

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria were employed by the National Cancer Action Team during the decision-making process on a regional centre for head and neck cancer services for Worcestershire; for what reasons these criteria were selected; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) does not make decisions about the establishment and location of cancer services or centres.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical excellence (NICE) issued Improving Outcomes Guidance (IOG) in November 2004 on the organisation of health care for adults with head and neck cancers. The guidance recommends which health care professionals should be involved in treatment and care, and the types of hospital or cancer centre that are best suited to provide that health care. It is for primary care trusts as commissioners of local services to implement this guidance in conjunction with their cancer networks, strategic health authorities and other stakeholders.
	The role of the NCAT is to assess whether the plans submitted by a trust or a cancer network are compliant with IOG. Support for the three Counties Cancer Network's implementation summary was provided because it was considered to be compliant with the IOG recommendations. To see further improvement in cancer services it is essential that IOG are fully implemented nationally.

Cancer: Health Services

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates the Three Counties Cancer Network received submissions on the head and neck cancer treatment submissions from  (a) Worcestershire Royal Hospital and  (b) Gloucestershire Royal Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to approach the national health service organisations involved; Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for this information directly.

Cancer: Health Services

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the report of the National Cancer Action Team on head and neck cancer services in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The National Cancer Peer Review programme conducted peer reviews of cancer services in the three Counties Cancer Network, which includes Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire and published reports of the reviews in 2006 and 2008. The National Cancer Peer Review programme aims to improve care for people with cancer.
	It is for primary care trusts in conjunction with their cancer networks, strategic health authorities and other stakeholders to assess the reports and take any necessary action to improve local services.

Dementia

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) remit,  (b) work programme and  (c) membership is of the ministerial taskforce on dementia research; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: I announced plans to establish a new ministerial group on dementia research following the very successful ministerial summit on dementia research held in July this year. The remit of the group will be to maintain the momentum begun at the summit by developing a new vision for the future of dementia research and advising on practicable ways to achieve that vision.
	The group will cover the full spectrum of scientific research, including work on cause (including prevention), cure and care. Its detailed work programme is for the group to determine, but will be driven by three main objectives:
	to devise ways to use available resources more effectively to help increase the volume and impact of high quality dementia research;
	to develop a strategy for increasing public support for dementia research; and
	to provide informed and authoritative advice on government policy and wider national and international initiatives.
	Membership is currently being finalised, but the group will include the key bodies with a stake in dementia research, including the main charities, the commercial sector and people living with dementia.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Phil Hope: The Department operates three main websites:
	The Department of Health corporate website (www.dh.gov.uk)
	NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk)
	Connecting for Health (www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk).
	Since 27 June 2007 each has undergone the following redesigns listed as follows, with the given costs and completion dates:
	 The Department of Health corporate website
	Number of re-designs since 27 June 2007: 1
	Date on which re-design was completed: 11 February 2008
	Total cost: £513,000.00.
	 NHS Choices
	Number of re-designs since 27 June 2007: 0
	Date on which re-design was completed: Not applicable
	Total cost: Nil.
	 Connecting for Health
	Number of re-designs since 27 June 2007: 1
	Date on which re-design was completed: July 2009
	Total cost: All work was completed using internal resource and formed part of the ongoing maintenance of the site.
	Since 27 June 2007 the Department has reduced the total number of websites that it operates from 196 to 71, to meets its obligations under Transformational Government. The Department will continue to reduce this number to just two websites by the Cabinet Office deadline of July 2011.
	Given the high number of websites that were in existence between 27 June 2007 and December 2009, it is not possible to provide information on re-designs for all of these as this would incur disproportionate costs.
	The Department has two executive agencies that each operate their own website. These are:
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
	NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA).
	Since 27 June 2007 the MHRA website and the PASA website have not undergone any re-designs.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has allocated to Maternity Matters programmes in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Ann Keen: In January 2008, the Department announced an additional £330 million for maternity services to help support the implementation of Maternity Matters over the three years 2008-09 to 2010-11. This funding has been included in primary care trusts (PCT) baseline allocations. It is for PCTs to determine how best to use based on the needs of local maternity services.

Family Nurse Partnership Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of Family Nurse Partnership programme staff are health visitors;
	(2)  what the estimated total cost is of providing the Family Nurse Partnership scheme; and what estimate has been made of the average cost per family of the scheme;
	(3)  what his Department's plans are for expansion of the Family Nurse Partnership.

Ann Keen: Of all the family nurses currently employed in Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) sites, 54 per cent. had been in a health visiting post immediately prior to becoming a family nurse and 67 per cent. were currently registered health visitors.
	A formative evaluation of implementation in the first 10 FNP sites is being conducted by Birkbeck college, university of London. This will conclude by 2011 and will include an assessment of costs. A report of findings from the second year was published on the Department for Children, Schools and Families research website in September this year, and this suggested that the cost of FNP per client for those completing the programme is around £4,500 over two and a half years.
	The FNP is also being evaluated through a randomised controlled trial, led by the South East Wales Trials Unit at the School of Medicine, Cardiff university. This will test the impact of the FNP compared with other services on pregnancy and birth outcomes, on child health and development and on parental life course; and it will also assess costs, through an economic evaluation.
	The FNP programme gives us a real opportunity to transform the life chances of some of our most vulnerable children. It has been shown in the United States to have strong and consistent short and long-term benefits for children and parents. Early learning in England suggests that the FNP can be delivered well by our skilled family nurses, the programme is highly valued by clients, that fathers engage with it well, and that early impacts look promising.
	We will be testing FNP in 50 sites across England by January 2010 and over 3,000 clients have enrolled on FNP to date. The Child Health Strategy, published in February 2009, said the Government wished to expand to 70 pilot sites by April 2011. This would allow capacity to deliver FNP to at least 7,000 families. The Child Health Strategy also said that if the research findings are positive we would like to see FNP offered to the most vulnerable first time young mothers across England over the next decade.

Health Services: Inspections

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) planned and  (b) unannounced inspection visits the Care Quality Commission has conducted in each month since its inception; and how many (i) planned and (ii) unannounced inspection visits its predecessor organisations conducted in each year since 1997-98.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission has provided the following information.
	The information is not available in the format requested.
	The Care Quality Commission has completed the following inspections of health and social care providers since 1 April 2009.
	
		
			  2009-10 (up to 30 October 2009) 
			   April  May  June  July  August  September  October  Total 
			 Key inspections completed 1,206 1,325 1,426 1,396 1,181 1,157 827 (1)8,788 
			 Of those, the number which were announced 107 90 41 47 54 73 30 (2)526 
			 (1)This includes 84 inspections of NHS trusts and 186 healthcare associated infection inspections that are not broken down monthly. (2) This includes 84 inspections of NHS trusts that are not broken down monthly. 
		
	
	The figures do not include an additional 214 inspections of independent health care providers (143 announced) which are currently under way and not yet completed.
	The figures also do not include joint inspections with Ofsted relating to safeguarding. These commenced in June and 11 have been completed.
	The following table shows the number of inspections carried out by the National Commission for Social Care and the Commission for Social Care Inspection in previous years.
	
		
			   2002-03( 1)  2003-04( 1)  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 2)  2007-08( 3)  2008-09 
			 Key inspections completed 41,434 46,768 48,062 47,341 26,676 19,059 15,072 
			 Of those, the number which were announced 25,606 24,226 25,233 13,824 1,734 626 303 
			 (1) During 2002-03 and 2003-04 the inspections were carried out by the National Care Standards Commission. From 2004-05 to 2008-09 the inspections were carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection. (2 )The reduction in the number of inspections is due to changes in methodology, changes to statutory inspection frequency plus a focus on poorer performing services. (3 )The further reduction in inspection numbers is due to the transfer of responsibility for regulation of children's services to Ofsted from 1 April 2007. 
		
	
	The following table shows the total number of inspections of independent health care providers for the previous three years carried out by the Healthcare Commission.
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 1) 
			 Inspections completed 412 865 402 
			 Of those, the number which were announced 373 628 139 
			 (1) The reduction in inspections in 2008-09 was due to changes in methodology. 
		
	
	In addition, the following table shows the total number of NHS trusts inspected by the Healthcare Commission against core standards.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007-08 79 
			 2008-09 84 
			  Note: This is not the number of individual visits. Some trusts had more than one visit as part of an inspection. 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of health care associated inspections of NHS trusts carried out by the Healthcare Commission. These are all unannounced.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007-08 120 
			 2008-09 190 
			  Note: This does not include follow up visits. 
		
	
	These figures do not include service reviews, clinical audits, or any of the investigations undertaken by the Healthcare Commission.

Health Visitors: East Sussex

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors have been employed in  (a) Lewes constituency and  (b) East Sussex in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The number of health visitors in the East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust area (PCT) which includes the Lewes constituency as at 30 September for each year that data are available are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 
			   Headcount 
			 2002 91 
			 2003 84 
			 2004 75 
			 2005 81 
			 2006 42 
			 2007 72 
			 2008 70 
			  Notes: 1. East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT was formed in October 2006 from a complete merger of Eastbourne Downs PCT and Sussex Downs and Weald PCT. Figures for 2002-06 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. 2. The NHS Information Centre are aware of the drop in numbers for 2006. It is possible that Eastbourne Downs PCT failed to include around 30 health visitors in its census return for 2006. The census return was fully validated and confirmation that the return was accurate was received from the organisation prior to publication of the figures.  Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce census.

Health Visitors: Training

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much on average it cost his Department to fund a one-year degree level health visitor course for a qualified nurse in 2008-09.

Ann Keen: The average cost of funding a one year degree level health visitor course for a qualified nurse in 2008-09 is not held centrally.

Hospital Beds: Surrey

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many beds there were in community hospitals in  (a) Surrey,  (b) Guildford and  (c) Waverley in each year since 2001;
	(2)  how many beds in community hospitals were temporarily closed in  (a) Surrey,  (b) Guildford and  (c) Waverley Borough during each year since 2001.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not held centrally.

Lancashire Primary Care Trust

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of people being treated for depression in Lancashire Primary Care Trust.

Phil Hope: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the number of patients aged 18 years or over, recorded on practice disease registers with a diagnosis of depression for the Central Lancashire primary care trust (PCT).
	
		
			  Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) 
			   Number of patients on depression register 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 44,720 
			  Notes: 1. The Information Centre for health and social care published the national QOF for England, which gives the number of people recorded on practice disease registers with a diagnosis of depression. The depression register only includes patients 18 years or over. 2. QOF is the national Quality and Outcomes Framework, introduced as part of the new general medical services contract on 1 April 2004. 3. Participation by practices in the QOF is voluntary, though participation rates are very high, with most personal medical services practices also taking part. 4. Patients will only contribute to the figures in QOF if they are registered with a general practice participating in QOF. 5. Most indicators in QOF have rules which allow for patients to be excluded (e.g. patient refuses treatment) and so the denominator for a given indicator may be less than the number of patients on the register for that disease. 6. The published QOF information was derived from QMAS; a national system developed by NHS Connecting for Health. 7. QMAS uses data from general practices to calculate individual practices' QOF achievement. QMAS is a national IT system developed by NHS Connecting for Health to support the QOF. 8. The QMAS system captures the number of patients on the various disease registers for each practice. The number of patients on the clinical registers can be used to calculate measures of disease prevalence, expressing the number of patients on each register as a percentage of the number of patients on practices' lists.  Source: Quality Management Analysis System (QMAS database) 2008-09 data as at end of June 2009

Legislation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long it took in each case between the completion of an impact assessment relating to each bill sponsored by his Department and first reading of that bill since 1997.

Phil Hope: The Department does not hold this data centrally.

Maternity Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the recommendations of the NHS Neonatal Taskforce will be included as indicators in the 2009-10 NHS Operating framework.

Mike O'Brien: The 2010-11 NHS Operating Framework is currently being developed.

Mental Capacity Act 2005

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars and  (c) other documents he (i) has issued in the last 12 months and (ii) plans to issue in the next 12 months consequent on the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The statutory instruments (SI), departmental circulars, other documents issued in the last 12 months consequent on the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 are shown as follows. There are no current plans to issue SIs in the next 12 months but there are plans to publish further guidance and possibly departmental circulars to support the implementation of the Act.
	 Statutory instruments
	Issued in the last 12 months
	1. Transitional arrangements were introduced via the Mental Health Act 2007 (Commencement No. 10 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2009 (SI 2009 No. 139), which were laid on 4 February 2009, to ease the handling of the then anticipated volume of assessments requested by managing authorities (care homes and hospitals) from supervisory bodies (local authorities and primary care trusts (PCTs)) following the implementation of the Deprivation of Liberty (DOLS) Safeguards on 1 April 2009.
	2. Amending regulations to the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities Partnership Arrangements Regulations 2000 were made via the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities Partnership Arrangements (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 No. 278), which were laid on 18 February 2009. The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards are now included on the list of functions of NHS Bodies as a result of regulation 5 of that SI, thereby enabling PCTs to enter into formal partnership arrangements with a local authority under section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006. Local authorities are enabled to carry out MCA DOLS functions on behalf of PCTs. Powers for LAs to enter into formal partnership arrangements with a PCT under section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006 and for PCTs to carry out MCA DOLS functions on behalf of PCTs already existed.
	3. The Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty: Monitoring and Reporting; and Assessments-Amendment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 No. 827), which were made on 31 March 2009, provide for the powers of the Care Quality Commission for the purpose of monitoring, or reporting on, the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.
	 Departmental circulars
	Issued in the last 12 months
	1. A Dear Colleague Letter was issued on 19 March 2009 to confirm the funding available to PCTs in 2009-10 to support the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act.
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_096559
	2. LAC(DH)(2009)2 was issued on 24 March 2009 to confirm the funding available to LAs in 2009-10 to support the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/LocalAuthorityCirculars/DH_096868
	Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library.
	 Other documents
	Issued in the last 12 months
	 General guidance
	A range of guidance to support the implementation of the Act is available on dedicated pages on the Department's website and further guidance, for example, in relation to significant case law developments will be placed there over the next 12 months.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/SocialCare/Deliveringadultsocialcare/MentalCapacity/MentalCapacityAct2005/index.htm
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/SocialCare/Deliverin gadultsocialcare/MentalCapacity/MentalCapacityActDeprivationofLiberty Safeguards/index.htm
	 Specific guidance
	Guidance was issued on 1 April 2009, on the Department's website and a copy has been placed in the Library, regarding arrangements under paragraph 183(4) of schedule A1 to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 between the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers. They set out that where questions about a person's ordinary residence arise in relation to which local authority should act as the supervisory body, the Secretary of State will determine cross-border ordinary residence disputes between England and Wales where the person to whom the dispute relates is accommodated in a care home in England. The Welsh Ministers will determine cross-border disputes where the person to whom the dispute relates is accommodated in a care home in Wales.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_097383

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government will fulfil those commitments made in the National Service Framework for mental health that have not yet been fully implemented.

Phil Hope: The Mental Health National Service Framework reached the end of its 10-year lifespan in September 2009. It provided a blueprint for a genuine transformation in the delivery of services, and many of its objectives have been carried forward into New Horizons.
	The cross-government framework New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health was published on 7 December 2009 and is designed as a platform for future action across government. It has been co-produced with a number of key external stakeholders, and sets out the expectation that services to treat and care for people with mental health problems will be accessible to everyone who needs them. A copy of the publication has already been placed in the Library.

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Choose and Book system does not include mental health services; and in what ways the New Horizons initiative will address this issue.

Phil Hope: Mental health services are not excluded from Choose and Book. In November 2009, there were around 380 mental health services available in the Directory of Services, 85 per cent. of which were for adults. From September to November 2009, 10,751 mental health appointments were booked using Choose and Book. However, Choose and Book may not always be the most appropriate way in which appointments for mental health services can be booked; appropriate help should be offered to vulnerable patients who may be unable or unwilling to take the necessary steps to make a booking.
	New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health, published on 7 December 2009, is a significant cross-government programme of action with the twin aims of improving the mental health and well-being of the population and improving the quality and accessibility of services for people with poor mental health. It is based on four key guiding values one of which is being in control of our lives and includes a commitment to continue to explore and cost further options for extending choice to mental health service users. A copy of the publication has already been placed in the Library.

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department is involving service users in designing Payment by Results for mental health.

Mike O'Brien: Service users have been involved in developing Payment by Results (PbR) for mental health at an early stage. A study by the University of Huddersfield, Exploring the Impact of a Clinical Decision Support Tool from the Perspective of Service Users  Carers (available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/5092), used focus groups to identify what service users thought of an early iteration of the mental health currency work. The study highlighted service users desire to be involved in the care planning process that is linked to mental health PbR. We therefore expect, as mental health PbR is implemented, that service users will be very involved in the identification and agreement of local care packages and pathways to meet their own needs as part of care planning. User representatives will also be consulted on key aspects of the further development of the approach to PbR for mental health.

MMR Vaccine: Basingstoke

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of children in Basingstoke under the age of five years received two doses of MMR vaccine in each quarter of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) publishes quarterly data under the COVER (cover of vaccination evaluated rapidly) programme.
	Data are not available for Basingstoke itself, and the organisation responsible for primary care for Basingstoke has changed following national health service reorganisations. Up to 2002, North and Mid Hampshire health authority (HA) was responsible; for 2002 to 2006 it was North Hampshire primary care trust (PCT); and from 2006 it has been Hampshire PCT.
	
		
			  Quarter evaluated  PCT name  Number of children with 5( th)  birthday in quarter  Percentage received MMR2 by 5( th)  birthday 
			 October to December 2002 North Hampshire PCT 728 76.4 
			 January to March 2003 North Hampshire PCT 827 77.3 
			 April to June 2003 North Hampshire PCT 608 82.1 
			 July to September 2003 North Hampshire PCT 659 82.5 
			 October to December 2003 North Hampshire PCT 604 81.8 
			 January to March 2004 North Hampshire PCT 622 83.3 
			 April to June 2004 North Hampshire PCT 653 83.8 
			 July to September 2004 North Hampshire PCT 619 79.5 
			 October to December 2004 North Hampshire PCT 547 80.8 
			 January to March 2005 North Hampshire PCT 574 81.2 
			 April to June 2005 North Hampshire PCT 558 84.2 
			 July to September 2005 North Hampshire PCT 610 84.4 
			 October to December 2005 North Hampshire PCT 573 81.3 
			 January to March 2006 North Hampshire PCT 552 88.4 
			 April to June 2006 North Hampshire PCT 582 80.9 
			 July to September 2006 North Hampshire PCT 569 80.0 
			 October to December 2006 Hampshire PCT 3,415 79.4 
			 January to March 2007 Hampshire PCT 2,304 79.4 
			 April to June 2007 Hampshire PCT 2,649 79.6 
			 July to September 2007 Hampshire PCT 3,494 80.4 
			 October to December 2007 Hampshire PCT 3,461 79.4 
			 January to March 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,367 79.3 
			 April to June 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,626 83.2 
			 July to September 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,736 82.5 
			 October to December 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,642 83.0 
			 January to March 2009 Hampshire PCT 3,644 83.3 
			 April to June 2009 Hampshire PCT 3,681 84.4 
		
	
	Prior to 2002, vaccine coverage data were published annually. Annual Measles Mumps and Rubella 2 (MMR2) coverage data at age five years by HA was published by the Department's Statistics Division for the fiscal years (1 March to 31 April) 1999-2000 to 2001-02. During this period Basingstoke was part of North and Mid Hampshire HA.
	
		
			  North and Mid Hampshire HA 
			   Denominator  MMR2 coverage at five years (percentage) 
			 1999-2000 7,468 78 
			 2000-01 7,278 73 
			 2001-02 7,168 73

NHS Business Services Authority

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to withhold approval from the NHS Business Services Authority for the outsourcing of its IT and Dental Services contract until a full appraisal of the in-house option is conducted.

Mike O'Brien: On 27 November 2009, Ministers approved the business case for the award of the contract for the supply of dental contract support services and IT infrastructure to the NHS Business Services Authority (the Authority) to Capita Group Plc. The Authority expects to sign the contract on 14 December 2009 subject to final approval by the board of the Authority on 10 December 2009.
	In preparing its business case, the Authority examined its existing in-house capability and considered it was not capable of delivering the full set of business requirements set out in that case. In the circumstances, a further appraisal of the in-house option would not be appropriate.

NHS: Finance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each NHS Trust and NHS Foundation Trust in England received for the provision of private patient services in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested has been placed in the Library

Oesophagectomy

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to continue minimally-invasive oesophagectomy (MIO) research conducted at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in the event that MIO procedures are moved from that hospital to Derriford Hospital.

Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for the local national health service.
	However, we are advised that the ongoing research projects into minimally invasive surgery for upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer surgery at the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust will continue following the centralisation of upper GI cancer surgery for the South West peninsula at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

Oesophagectomy

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the long-term survival rate for  (a) minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and  (b) open oesophagectomy is;
	(2)  what the mortality rate for  (a) minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and  (b) open oesophagectomy is;
	(3)  what the average recovery time for  (a) minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and  (b) open oesophagectomy is.

Mike O'Brien: Information on the recovery rate and long-term survival rate for minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and open oesophagectomy is not held centrally.
	The 30 day mortality rate for minimally-invasive oesophagectomy was 3.4 per cent. and for open oesophagectomy was 3.1 per cent. This information is from the second annual report of the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA), which was published in October 2009. The publication is available on the NHS Information Centre for health and social care website at
	www.ic.nhs.uk/og
	It is important to note that the second annual report's data do not cover all eligible patients as the audit does not close for submissions until February 2010, and not all eligible trusts have participated.

Patient Choice Schemes

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  who has responsibility within the NHS for judging a patient's entitlement and eligibility to use the Patient Transfer Service;
	(2)  which NHS bodies are responsible for paying for a patient to use the Patient Transfer Service.

Mike O'Brien: A patient's eligibility for non-emergency patient transport service (PTS) should be determined either by a health care professional or by non-clinically qualified staff who are both:
	clinically supervised and/or working within locally agreed protocols or guidelines, and
	employed by the national health service or working under contract for the NHS.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning ambulance services (which could include PTS) to such extent as the PCT considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements of the area for which they are legally charged with providing services. PCTs are therefore ultimately responsible for the costs of PTS.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, from which pages of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging Wave 3 he derived the numbers of people  (a) receiving state-funded care and  (b) making a means-tested contribution.

Phil Hope: The numbers of individuals whose needs are critical under Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) estimated to be receiving state-funded care and making a means-tested contribution are taken from the Personal Social Services Research Unit's micro-simulation model for older people.
	The estimated numbers in each of these groups has then been narrowed down to those FACS critical individuals with difficulty with four or more activities of daily living by using the percentages shown in table 1 of the Impact Assessment, which are derived from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA). They were produced by secondary analysis of the ELSA data-which are publicly available-and not drawn from a published report.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what methodology was used to calculate the number of people described as  (a) self-funding plus unmet need,  (b) residential care switchers and  (c) informal care switchers.

Phil Hope: The number of individuals estimated to be self-funders or those with unmet need is taken from the Personal Social Services Research Unit's micro-simulation model for older people. An extra 25 per cent. was added to both the volume and the estimated cost from their model to bring it closer into line with alternative estimates of the numbers of severely disabled older people purchasing private home care. This seemed prudent in view of the inevitable uncertainty about the impact of free care on demand and the consequent risk of under-estimating costs.
	Residential care switchers were estimated by using a simple model of the likely flows into and out of a steady state stock of individuals in residential care. It is assumed that not all individuals entering care homes under the current system will either choose or be eligible to receive personal care at home under the new system (i.e. because their needs may be too great). We do not know exactly what proportion of these individuals will choose to receive their care at home rather than enter residential care, but for illustrative purposes we have assumed a figure of 10 per cent.
	Informal care switchers were estimated by removing the 'living alone' variable from the logistic regression equation used to predict individuals' level of need for formal care and re-running the model to estimate the additional volume of individuals who would be classified as critical under Fair Access to Care Services if everybody hypothetical lived alone. We do not know what proportion of these individuals would actually have their informal care arrangements withdrawn in order to qualify for free personal care, but for illustrative purposes we have assumed a figure of five per cent.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to Annex A of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, from what source the estimate that five per cent. of people would have informal care withheld is derived.

Phil Hope: This is a working assumption. It relates to older people whose needs are not assessed as critical under fair access to care services (FACS) while receiving informal care, but would become FACS critical if they ceased to receive informal care. Comments on its validity are welcomed as part of the consultation on regulations and guidance, Personal Care at Home: a consultation for proposals on regulation and guidance, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to paragraph 4.5 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what estimate he has made of the number of people who constitute the significant number whose status will change through reablement; from what source the data underlying that estimate were derived; and what assumptions have been made in making the estimate.

Phil Hope: Studies by the Care Services Efficiency Delivery programme on re-ablement domiciliary care services have shown that up to 50 per cent. of older people who were offered a short term package of re-ablement did not require any further support at the end of their treatment(1). However, as there are uncertainties about the long-term impact of re-ablement on the need for care, we cannot make an accurate forecast at this current time. That is why the impact assessment does not take into account the benefits of re-ablement, even though these are likely to be substantial.
	(1)( ) Source:
	Department of Health, 2009: Use of Resources in Adult Social Care: a guide for local authorities.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 5.25 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what the two supply side failures referred to are.

Ann Keen: The supply-side failures referred to in paragraph 5.25 are the under-provision of insurance coverage and higher prices for those who do take out insurance. Insurance companies wishing to offer insurance for personal care will make an assessment of likelihood that people will require such services and offer a product at a price based on the average probability of need.
	People who view themselves as being at a low risk of needing personal care will not be attracted by an insurance product at an average price and would only buy one at a low price. Those who see themselves as high risk will see an insurance product offered at a price based on the average probability as good value for money and are likely to purchase it.
	As a result, insurance companies are aware that an average priced policy will adversely select high risk customers and so do not offer it. They may offer products at a higher price to reflect the higher risk of customers they do attract. In an extreme case, this could result in complete market collapse as the remaining customers respond to higher prices by deciding not to purchase insurance. In response, insurance companies raise prices further and eventually there are no purchasers left.
	In addition, insurance companies and individuals may make a different assessment of the risk of a person needing personal care, owing to their having less information about a person's risk than the individual themselves.
	Insurance companies may respond to the problem by attempting to gather information about customers to set individually tailored prices to their products. Gathering information is costly and insurance companies pass this on through higher premiums. This can be compounded if the pool of customers taking insurance becomes smaller as insurance companies have to spread their fixed costs over a small number of people, further raising the price that customers have to pay.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has made an estimate of the average volume of carbon dioxide emissions arising from re-ablement schemes as set out in the Personal Care at Home Bill.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 497W.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the capitation cost of the Chairman of the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many days she spent working for the authority in that year.

Gillian Merron: The chair of the South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA) was appointed from 1 May 2009 with remuneration at the national rate set by the Government of £46,131 for 2009-10. The chair committed to working at least three days a week for the SHA.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority: Expenditure

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) budgeted and  (b) outturn expenditure of the NHS South East Coast Health Authority was in each of the last four years.

Gillian Merron: The following table shows the revenue resource limit and net operating costs for the South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA). The revenue resource limit represents the total amount of revenue expenditure that an SHA can incur during the financial year. Net operating costs represent the total net revenue expenditure actually incurred by the SHA during the financial year. For 2005-06, we have provided data for the two predecessor SHAs: Kent and Medway SHA and Surrey and Sussex SHA.
	
		
			  SHA revenue resource limit and net operating costs 
			  SHA name   Revenue resource limit (£000)  Net operating costs (£000) 
			 Kent and Medway SHA 2005-06 92,099 76,657 
			 Surrey and Sussex SHA 2005-06 137,733 125,774 
			 South East Coast SHA 2006-07 252,490 222,113 
			 South East Coast SHA 2007-08 314,176 278,034 
			 South East Coast SHA 2008-09 313,025 273,049 
			  Note: South East Coast SHA was created on 1 July 2006 from the merger of Surrey and Sussex SHA and Kent and Medway SHA.  Source: SHA Audited Summarisation Schedules 2005-06 to 2008-09.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority: Pay

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the salary of the chief executive of the NHS South East Coast Health Authority is.

Gillian Merron: Information about the remuneration of the chief executive of the South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA) is available in the SHA's Annual Report 2008-09, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Therapy: Domestic Violence

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Home Department's Together we can end violence against women and girls strategy, how much his Department plans to spend on the pilot site of the Multisystemic Therapy Programme at the Brandon Centre in North London in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) each of the subsequent three years; and from what budget such expenditure will be drawn.

Ann Keen: The Department is co-funding the Multisystemic Therapy Programme for Problem Sexual Behaviour at the Brandon Centre for a three-year period from 2009-10 to 2011-12. This funding amounts to £250,000 in 2009-10 and £300,000 in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. There is currently no commitment to funding from the Department after this date.
	This commitment to develop pilot sites of Multisystemic Therapy was made originally in the 2007 Social Exclusion Action Plan, Action 20, and is drawn from the Department's Health Inequalities and Partnerships Directorate budget, with additional funding provided by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Youth Justice Board.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government plans to take to monitor and seek to reduce levels of anti-Semitism overseas; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Ivan Lewis: The Government are committed to tackling anti-Semitism. We condemn all instances of persecution and discrimination against individuals and groups wherever they occur.
	All the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas missions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights in their host countries. We have taken a number of measures to tackle anti-Semitism, many of them in response to the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism, commissioned by John Mann MP and published in 2006. These include supporting the International Task Force for Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, to help educate young people around the world about the destructiveness of hate; working through Embassies worldwide to support efforts to tackle anti-Semitism; and working through mulitlateral fora, including the UN, EU, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Council of Europe.

Australia: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of incidents of anti-Semitism in Australia; whether he has had recent discussions with the government of Australia on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I am aware of the recent release of a report by Jeremy Jones of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council at the annual meeting of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry held in Sydney on 29 November 2009 highlighting a reported increase in anti-Semitic incidents. The report also indicated that Australians are fundamentally tolerant and opposed to discrimination, vilification or harassment of Jews and other segments of the population. The Australian Government were also highlighted as making significant developments to address this issue over the last 20 years.
	The Government are committed to tackling anti-Semitism. We condemn all instances of persecution and discrimination against individuals and groups wherever they occur. All the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas missions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights in their host countries.

Colombia: Trade Unions

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of trade unionists murdered in Colombia in the last 12 months; what steps he is taking to assist the Colombian government to reduce this figure; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	We see a variety of reports from different sources on the number of trade unionists murdered in Colombia. The bottom line is that one trade union murder is one too many and the level of violence and human rights abuse in Colombia is unacceptable.
	The Government support the work of human rights defenders in Colombia through a range of projects. Projects approved for this financial year and beyond total around £1 million; two of these specifically help tackle impunity and three are aimed at strengthening the position of human rights defenders. We are also working with the UN on a research initiative to help improve the protection of trade union human rights and the development of positive labour relations.
	Our embassy staff in Colombia meet with many who have received threats, and we will continue to do so in line with EU guidelines on human rights defenders.
	I raised our concerns with President Uribe when I visited Colombia in October 2009, and I made a joint statement with Foreign Minister Bermúdez declaring;
	the defence of human rights is necessary and legitimate for democracy, and in a country such as Colombia, which takes pride in being completely open and ready to accept international security in this area.
	We welcome these public statements from the highest levels of the Colombian Government.

Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the findings of the UN report on allegations of illegal funding of the FDLR on an international scale; and whether he plans to raise the matter of such allegations in the UN Security Council.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 8 December 2009
	The UN Group of Experts report, which among other things considers external funding of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), makes a valuable contribution to the overall efforts of the international community to help deal with the problems of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report is frank, independent and fearless, and the Group of Experts have set out their findings and thinking clearly and cogently. We commend them on their work.
	The UK has worked closely with the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the DRC sanctions regime. The UNSC agreed unanimously in November to renew and expand the DRC sanctions regime. This is legally binding for all UN member states and represents another step forward in terms of international action to disrupt and deter those who support armed groups and facilitate the continuing conflict in the Great Lakes region.
	The UK is committed to the UN Sanctions regime. We will not hesitate to support sanctions against any person or company-including those based in the UK-against whom there is sufficient evidence to do so.

Departmental Legislation

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of his Department's analysis of responses to the public consultation on possible legislation in respect of the overseas operations of private military and security companies.

Ivan Lewis: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office launched a public consultation on the Government's proposed policy to promote high standards of conduct in the private military and security companies industry internationally on 24 April 2009.
	We received detailed responses from over twenty organisations and individuals. Officials have analysed these in detail. We aim to publish the final summary of responses, including a Government response to the contributions received, as soon as possible.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of staff of his Department who  (a) have been employed in the Middle East and South Asia in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009 and  (b) will be employed in that area in each of the next five years.

Ivan Lewis: There were 257 diplomatic staff positions (not including UK Trade and Industry staff) in the middle east and south Asia in 2008. This number increased to 289 in 2009.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) prioritises its resources where they are most needed in order to deliver its departmental strategic objectives and we aim to respond quickly to any new priorities by moving existing staff resources to new locations when necessary. As such, it is not possible to estimate the number of staff that will be employed in the middle east and south Asia in each of the next five years.
	While we do not envisage the number to change substantially, much will hinge on the FCO's future Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) settlement (covering financial years 2011-12 to 2013-14.

Departmental Property

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on gilding in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a responsibility to maintain our historic listed buildings in accordance with the requirements of leases and English Heritage. As part of an ongoing programme of redecoration and refurbishment work £5,299 was spent in the last 12 months on gilding in the State Dining Room at Lancaster House in accordance with lease requirements. This room is used throughout the year hosting official functions for all Government Departments.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Chris Bryant: 2,520 security passes were issued to contractors in the last 12 months. To identify which of these contractors provided consultancy services could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Honduras: Politics and Government

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what observations were made by UK representatives of the presidential election in Honduras on 29 November 2009; and what recognition the UK will afford to the government formed by any of the candidates who participated.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	 No UK representatives travelled to Honduras to observe the presidential elections in Honduras on 29 November 2009, and no official EU election observation mission was deployed. We understand that approximately 300 international observers attended polling stations on election day and two election experts from the European Commission were in-country at the time of the elections.
	Prior to the elections we made clear our belief that the democratically elected President, Manuel Zelaya, had to be returned to office. We note that the elections, although carried out under abnormal circumstances, were held in a largely peaceful manner. The UK, and our EU partners, will continue to encourage all parties to work towards full implementation of the San José/Tegucigalpa Accord and restoration of constitutional democratic order in the country.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conclusion of the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in respect of the blockade of Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: We have stated the Government position on the Goldstone report on a number of occasions. Some aspects of the report were flawed-particularly its failure to acknowledge fully Israel's right to defend herself, and the inadequate attention paid to Hamas' actions. However, the issues raised by the report were very serious, and they should be credibly and independently investigated.
	We have also been clear on our position on Israeli restrictions on access through the Gaza crossings. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised this with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 14 October 2009. EU Foreign Ministers called for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings in conclusions on 8 December 2009, which are available at:
	http://www.se2009.eu/polopoly_fs/1.27026!menu/standard/file/111829.pdf

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the blockade of Gaza by  (a) HM Ambassador to Israel and  (b) HM Consul General to the Palestinian Authority; and on what date each most recently visited Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: We receive regular reports about the current situation in Gaza from both our ambassador to Israel and our Consul-General Jerusalem.
	Our Consul-General Jerusalem regularly visits Gaza for meetings at the British Information and Services Office. His most recent visit was on 1 December 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of the Gaza blockade on efforts to reach peace in the Middle East.

Ivan Lewis: We regularly press Israel to ease restrictions at the Gaza crossings and permit the legitimate flow of humanitarian and reconstruction materials, trade goods and people into Gaza. We urge Israel to do so immediately, regardless of broader peace negotiations.
	The UK continues to vigorously pursue a comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution involving a viable Palestinian state living alongside Israel in peace and security.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the  (a) number of rockets or mortars fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel and  (b) injuries resulting from such attacks in each of the last four quarters.

Ivan Lewis: According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry there were 762 rocket and mortar attacks during 'Operation Cast Lead', and 193 attacks between the ceasefire on 18 January and 8 December 2009.
	There have been no Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire. We do not have figures concerning causalities.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on  (a) the number of incidents of (i) Israeli military incursions, (ii) rocket mortar or tank fire from Israel into Gaza, (iii) bombing and (iv) sound bombs in each of the last four quarters and  (b) fatalities and injuries that have resulted.

Ivan Lewis: We are unable to establish the total number of incidents in Gaza involving the Israeli defence forces in 2009.
	However, according to the UN, since the end of Operation Cast Lead, a total of 85 Palestinians have been killed and 134 others injured in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions in 2009 at the Erez crossing  (a) British and  (b) EU diplomats were shot at by Israeli or Palestinian forces; and what steps the Government has taken to reduce the risk of such incidents in future.

Ivan Lewis: There have been two incidents which have involved Israeli defence forces firing warning shots at diplomatic officials. One incident involved an official from the British consulate-general in Jerusalem and the second an official from an EU consulate-general in Jerusalem. We have discussed our concerns with the Israeli authorities.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether HM Ambassador to Israel plans to  (a) support and  (b) attend the Gaza Freedom March on 31 December 2009.

Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador to Israel has no plans to attend the Gaza Freedom March on 31 December 2009. We advise against all travel to Gaza. Despite the cease-fires continuing to hold, they are fragile and tensions remain extremely high.
	We remain gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and continue to urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions at the crossings and implement UN Security Council Resolution 1860 fully.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his representatives have had with the UN Secretary-General on the publication of the UN Secretary-General's report on the cost of damages to UN buildings and equipment in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead; and whether he has asked the UN Secretary-General to (i) publish his report and (ii) seek damages from the parties responsible.

Ivan Lewis: The Government were deeply concerned by reports of incidents involving UN property/personnel during the Gaza conflict. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set up the UN Board of Inquiry to investigate certain incidents involving UN property/personnel during the Gaza Conflict. The board reported back on 5 May 2009. The UN Secretariat are taking this forward directly with the Israeli Government.
	It is for the UN Secretary-General to decide whether or not to make public anything further on this matter.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions  (a) he and  (b) the Prime Minister have raised Gaza access issues with their Israeli counterparts; and on what occasions the Israeli government has acceded to requests for access in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: The UK regularly urges Israel to reduce restrictions at the Gaza crossings and to allow the legitimate flow of humanitarian and reconstruction materials, trade goods, and people.
	My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary last raised Gaza access issues with their Israeli counterparts on 14 October 2009 and 25 November 2009 respectively.

Middle East: Diplomatic Service

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to his statement in the Sunday Times of 6 January 2008, when he expects the planned increase in numbers of diplomatic staff in the Middle East and South Asia to have been completed.

Ivan Lewis: The planned increase in numbers of diplomatic staff (not including UK Trade and Industry staff) took place throughout the last financial year (April 2008 to March 2009). This saw an extra 32 front line staff deployed across the middle east and south Asia.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the part the Government is playing in the Middle East Peace Process.

Ivan Lewis: The UK continues to pursue vigorously a two-state solution. We support the Palestinian Authority in building the institutions of a future Palestinian State. We speak out to discourage acts which undermine the prospects of peace. And we strongly support the US effort to restart peace negotiations.
	There is more consensus in the international community than there has been for many years about the basis for a resolution of the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. We are continuing to support the efforts of the US Administration who are engaged in a good-faith endeavour to bridge the gap. We will continue to support those efforts, because the alternatives for the people of Israel, Palestine and the rest of the region look so much worse.

South Caucasus Group

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit the South Caucasus Group of countries to discuss  (a) bi-lateral relations and  (b) broader global issues.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no current plans to visit the region. Baroness Kinnock visited Georgia in June 2009 and met with President Aliyev when he came to the UK in July 2009. In recent months Ministers and senior officials have also had a series of meetings in London with counterparts from the South Caucasus, including the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Georgia, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia and Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan. I hope to visit the region soon.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the UK delegation to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has included a Minister since 1997.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	None. The UK's report on the implementation of the convention, and its optional protocols, was last examined by the Committee in 2008, when a senior official from the Department of Schools, Children and Families led the delegation.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions a Minister has appeared before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to discuss the UK's report as a state party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1997.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	None. The UK's report on the implementation of the convention, and its optional protocols, was last examined by the Committee in 2008, when a senior official from the Department of Schools, Children and Families led the delegation.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 779-80W, on employment and support allowance, how many and what proportion of work capability assessments for claimants of employment and support allowance have been completed  (a) between three and four,  (b) between four and five,  (c) between five and six and  (d) over six months after the 13-week period from the start of their claim in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer on 23 November 2009
	My response to your previous question on 11 November 2009,  Official Report , columns 779-80W, explained how 46 per cent. of completed work capability assessments for employment and support allowance claimants were completed within 13 weeks.
	The previous reply also stated that the latest reliable cohort of employment and support allowance claims were for claims starting in April 2009. We use this cohort to estimate Atos-advice timings of the assessment process:
	There were 8,900 (34 per cent.) completed between three and four months.
	An additional 3,800 (15 per cent.) were completed between four and five months.
	An additional 1,300 (5 per cent.) were completed between five and six months.
	None were completed after six months.
	 Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	Customers are able to backdate their claims to before they first contacted Jobcentre Plus, for incapacity benefit this was for an average of two weeks, and it is expected that this will be the same for employment and support allowance. Therefore, the figures above show the actual time between when the claim was made and the completed work capability assessment taking place, and not the true time that Jobcentre Plus and Atos have to work on cases which may be shorter.
	A more accurate reflection of the amount of cases that pass through the process would be determined by taking into account factors, such as, the time taken to return paperwork, whether their condition can be assessed on paper based evidence alone, whether further medical evidence is required or requested and whether a customer actually attends their initial appointment or it has to be re-scheduled. This information is not currently available but we will continue to undertake analysis of performance as the employment and support allowance regime beds in.

Employment and Support Allowance: Telephone Services

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department has carried out a disability equality impact assessment for the telephone script it uses for employment and support allowance applications.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Employment and Support Allowance project was disability equality impact assessed. The claim process for Employment and Support Allowance does not involve using a fully scripted computer system therefore this will not have been impact assessed.

Housing Benefit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in housing benefit on average to each recipient in each region in each of the last five years.

Helen Goodman: The most recent available information is in the tables.
	
		
			  Average weekly amount of housing benefit by Government office region: August 2005 to August 2007 
			  £ 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Great Britain 63.64 67.47 71.44 
			 North East 49.98 52.40 55.76 
			 North West 55.38 57.98 61.48 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 50.82 53.51 56.40 
			 East Midlands 51.93 56.95 58.35 
			 West Midlands 55.84 58.85 63.12 
			 East 63.35 67.18 70.98 
			 London 97.10 103.62 109.15 
			 South East 72.74 76.34 79.93 
			 South West 62.18 65.51 69.30 
			 Wales 53.53 56.15 59.90 
			 Scotland 48.56 51.88 56.11 
		
	
	
		
			  Average weekly amount of housing benefit by Government office region: November 2008 to August 2009 
			  £ 
			   2008  2009 
			 Great Britain 76.79 81.41 
			 North East 60.82 65.21 
			 North West 66.66 70.90 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 61.11 64.75 
			 East Midlands 63.52 67.34 
			 West Midlands 68.40 71.87 
			 East 76.28 81.17 
			 London 116.59 123.68 
			 South East 85.49 90.72 
			 South West 74.34 78.73 
			 Wales 64.37 68.50 
			 Scotland 59.70 62.69 
			  Notes:  1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.  2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest penny.   Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. taken in August 2005, August 2006, August 2007. Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in November 2008 and August 2009.

Housing Benefit

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discretion local authorities have to make direct payments to landlords through housing-related benefits.

Helen Goodman: Under the local housing allowance rules for calculating housing benefit local authorities may pay housing benefit directly to landlords in the following circumstances:
	when they consider that the tenant is unlikely to pay their rent; or
	when they consider that the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their financial affairs; or
	when payments have previously been made in the same award directly to the landlord because the tenant was in 8 or more weeks of arrears of rent; or
	as a one-off payment where the tenant has moved leaving arrears of rent.
	For housing benefit claims that are not assessed and paid under the local housing allowance rules, there are circumstances when the local authority may consider paying landlords directly:
	as a one-off payment of arrears when a customer has left an address leaving arrears of rent;
	at the customer's request or with his consent; or
	without the customer's consent if it is in the interest of the customer and their family.
	Where a customer has accrued rent arrears of eight weeks or more payment of housing benefit must be paid direct to the landlord.

In Work Credit

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of eligible lone parents have received the in-work credit since it was introduced.

Helen Goodman: Since the introduction of in work credit in April 2004 to March 2009, 134,000 lone parents have taken up this form of support.
	We cannot estimate the take up rate as a proportion of all eligible lone parents because to qualify for in work credit the lone parent must work at least 16 hours per week, and we do not hold data on the number of hours lone parents work when they leave benefit.

Sickness Benefits

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will place in the Library before the Christmas adjournment a copy of the Government's response to the European Commission on EU infringement proceedings in respect of the non-payment of exportable disability living allowances and other exportable sickness benefits.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to my written answer given on 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 249W.

Social Security Benefits: Elderly

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on disability premiums for  (a) pension credit and  (b) housing benefit for people over 65 in England in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Angela Eagle: The disability premium applies only to working age benefits, but disabled pensioners can have an additional amount for severe disability taken into account in their claim for pension credit or housing benefit.
	Premiums are additional amounts which are taken into account in the means test for pension credit and housing benefit, but are not paid directly as a discrete amount. They do not necessarily increase benefit entitlement by the full value of the premium, and the impact will depend on the pensioner's income and other circumstances.
	However, it is possible to estimate how much pension credit expenditure is due to the severe disability premium by looking at how much less would be spent if the premium was removed, all other things being equal, and these estimates are provided in the following table.
	Housing benefit is more complex, as entitlement is usually dependent on the amount and type of pension credit that is in payment. In particular, the use of the premium in a pension credit award can lead to a larger housing benefit entitlement, without the premium being used in the housing benefit assessment. National Statistics on housing benefit do not currently provide the necessary information needed in order to produce an estimate of the expenditure involved.
	
		
			  Estimated additional expenditure on pension credit due to the severe disability premium, for claimants aged 65 and over and living in England 
			  Total expenditure (£ million) 
			 2007-08 1,160 
			 2008-09 1,220 
			  Notes: 1. Expenditure estimates are consistent with expenditure information published on the internet at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp 2. The proportion of total pension credit expenditure relating to this group has been estimated using a 5 per cent. sample snapshot of cases in August of each year. 3. For couples, age is defined as the age of the claimant. 4. Additional expenditure on Pension Credit due to the severe disability premium is defined as the lower of the value of the premium(s) used in the pension credit assessment and the weekly pension credit award. 5. Estimates have been rounded to the nearest £10 million.  Source: DWP Statistical and Accounting Data

Social Security Benefits: Mortgages

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the effects of the time taken to make Support for Mortgage Interest payments on people in receipt of  (a) income support,  (b) income-based jobseeker's allowance,  (c) income-related employment and support allowance and  (d) pension credit; what the reasons are for the time taken to make such payments; how many people she estimates will be affected by the time taken; what estimate she has made of the monetary value of such outstanding payments; when she expects payments to be made in accordance with target times; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: holding answer 7 December 2009
	 The information is not available in the format requested.
	Neither Jobcentre Plus nor the Pension Disability and Carers Service have separate specific targets for processing support for mortgage interest (SMI) payments. Clearance times for SMI payments are measured along with all other claims or changes of circumstances affecting benefits.
	Jobcentre Plus is meeting the actual average clearance targets for changes for all primary benefits; the Pension Disability and Carers Service is meeting its targets for clearing pension credit claims.

Correctional Services Accreditation Panel

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people worked for the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: In addition to the chair, the panel consists of appointed members, who are independent experts in offending behaviour programmes, the principles of effective practice and/or accreditation. 12 members were appointed in 2003 for a period of three years. These appointments and the appointment of the acting chair were extended until 31 April 2008.
	Following an open competition in January 2008 15 independent experts were appointed. Members are appointed to carry out work when required and remuneration is dependent on that work and attending the panel which convenes on an ad hoc basis. The panel is supported by one full time civil servant who manages the programme of work.

Bill of Rights

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether invited members of the public were remunerated for attendance at his Department's deliberative events on British values.

Michael Wills: At the regional events which took place on Saturdays throughout October in London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Gateshead and Edinburgh invited members of the public received an incentive payment of £75 per person. A total of 457 people attended the regional events. At the reconvened events in November in Gateshead and Birmingham (for which more travelling time was required for most delegates) invited members of the public received an incentive payment of £85 per person. A total of 225 people attended the reconvened events. When carrying out general population research it is usual for research companies to make incentive payments as a means to ensure that the research includes not only active individuals who like to engage in these discussions but also to encourage less engaged individuals to take part. Incentive payments are especially important in the case of events of this nature, as participants will often be expected to travel long distances to attend and will also be expected to reconvene as part of the next stages in the deliberative events process.

Crimes of Violence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many threats made by prisoners to prison officers were reported in the latest period for which figures are available; and what his Department's policy is on action to be taken in response to such reports.

Maria Eagle: A prisoner who makes threats to anyone may be charged under the prison or young offender institution rules with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. The charge will be dealt with at an adjudication hearing by a prison governor, or in more serious cases by an independent adjudicator (district judge). If the charge is proved the governor may impose any of the punishments set out in the rules, ranging from a caution, forfeiture of privileges, stoppage of earning, or cellular confinement. An independent adjudicator may impose any of these punishments, plus up to 42 additional days in custody.
	The Offender Management Caseload Statistics (OMCS), available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/offender-management-caseload-statistics-2008-2.pdf
	show that in 2008, 16,048 offences of threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour were punished following guilty findings at adjudications. The OMCS do not show the number of these offences that were directed at prison officers (as opposed to other members of staff, other prisoners, or visitors), nor how many charges were not proven or not proceeded with.
	Any threats by prisoners towards prison staff should be recorded on a Security Information Report (SIR). In the period January to August 2009, 15,232 SIRs were submitted an connection with threats to staff and others, but these records do not show how many of these incidents related to threats to prison officers, other staff, or visitors.
	Alternatively to, or in addition to the prison disciplinary system, prisoners' behaviour is taken into account when their privilege level under the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme is reviewed. A pattern of bad behaviour, such as making threats, or a particularly serious single incident, is likely to lead to a loss of privileges under the scheme. No figures are available on the number of prisoners whose privilege level has been reduced as a consequence of making threats.

Crown Courts

Stuart Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the level of competition for contracts for the provision of advocacy services in the Crown Court Criminal Defence Service;
	(2)  what his policy is on the provision of criminal litigation support and advocacy services in respect of a case in the Crown Court by the same firm of solicitors; and what value for money assessment has been made of that practice;
	(3)  if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on standards of representation in the Crown Court provided by the Criminal Defence Service of the appointment by the solicitors' firms providing criminal litigation support of advocates from those firms;
	(4)  if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on standards of advice given to a client of the Criminal Defence Service of the appointment to the client's case of a solicitor and an advocate from the same firm, with particular reference to  (a) advice on the right to silence during an investigation and  (b) the avoidance of adverse references at trial.

Bridget Prentice: With the exception of some advocates on Very High Cost (Crime) Cases, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not directly contract with advocates for the provision of advocacy services in the Crown court. The LSC is currently consulting on changes to the way that it procures advocacy services for high cost criminal cases. Currently there are sufficient advocates of appropriate quality to meet the needs of the Criminal Defence Service.
	Solicitor advocates must pass through an appropriate accreditation scheme before they are able to appear in the Crown court. The aim of this is to ensure that they achieve an equivalent level of skills to barristers. It is also the case that solicitor advocates and barristers-whether employed or self-employed-are under a professional obligation only to take on cases for which they are suitably experienced and qualified.
	In commissioning defence and other services, the LSC needs to be able to rely on suitable standards and accreditation to provide assurance as to the quality and value for money of the services it is buying. MOJ and the LSC have spent three years working with the professional bodies, the senior judiciary and the Crown Prosecution Service to develop a quality assurance scheme for all advocates as recognition of the significant change in those now permitted to partake in advocacy. In the longer term, the Quality Assurance of Advocates scheme (QAA) which is currently being developed may become a contractual requirement for all advocates wishing to undertake publicly funded advocacy.
	Advocates, whether solicitor advocates or barristers, are not involved in advising clients during investigations prior to charge. If a litigator advises his client to remain silent during interview, then that is a matter of professional judgment at that time with no bearing on any decision to instruct an in-house advocate or independent counsel if the client is subsequently charged.

Departmental Telephone Lines

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Michael Wills: The Department's telecoms services are provided through contracts with external service providers. The majority of these services are managed within individual business areas and detailed management information is not collated centrally.
	Following de-regulation of the telecoms industry, many Telecommunications Companies offer call packages which have inclusive calls, though in most cases 0800/0845 number are not covered. This means that charges paid by the caller to prefix 08 numbers are set by each phone company individually, with charges varying accordingly, especially when the call originates from a UK mobile or non-UK number.
	From the records held centrally, the Department operates 52 0845 numbers and 25 0800 telephone numbers to provide a range of services. There is no record of any 0870 numbers being used for public access to services.
	Some prefix 08 numbers could also be considered to be sponsored by the Department, as it pays for some of the cost to the caller. However, the amount would differ depending on the relevant tariffs in a caller's specific call plan.
	In 2008-09, call volumes to 18 0845 numbers used by Her Majesty's Courts Service Bulk Payment Centre totalled 789,000.
	Details of call volumes to other individual numbers, and any additional alternative exchange numbers that may be in use, is not collated centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As part of providing a cost-effective service to its users, the Department considers ways to make service users aware of the possibility that cheaper call options could be available. For instance, Her Majesty's Courts Service Bulk Payment Centre publish alternative exchange numbers for 18 0845 numbers on their web pages. This allows customers to choose which number to call, depending on their call plan. Charges vary, especially when the call originates from a UK mobile or non-UK number.

Health Services: Channel Islands

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consultation his Department conducted with  (a) British Chambers of Commerce,  (b) trades unions,  (c) the Federation of Small Businesses,  (d) the Confederation of British Industry and  (e) other organisations with interests in industry, trade, or commerce prior to the decision to cancel the reciprocal agreement between the National Health Service and the Isle of Man with effect from 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: No such discussions took place. The Department of Health ended the bilateral agreement with the Channel Islands (including Jersey and Guernsey) and gave notice on the agreement with the Isle of Man, as it considers that they are out of place considering the wide availability of travel insurance, and there is little robust data to justify the business case and value for money for the national health service.

Legal Aid: Hazel Grove

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for legal aid were  (a) received from and  (b) granted to residents of (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) each local authority in the north west in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: Applications for civil legal aid help and advice are made to individual providers. Existing data collection arrangements record the number of instances of advice provided, rather than the number of applications made.
	Applications for civil legal aid representation are submitted to the Legal Services Commission (LSC). The LSC collects data on the number of civil legal aid representation applications submitted to providers located within (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) each local authority in the north-west and this is broken down for each of the past five financial years (see Table 1). A proportion of these applications will come from individuals resident outside (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) local authority areas in the north-west.
	Data on applications for criminal legal aid are not recorded in the same way as applications for civil legal aid representation. Instead, they rely on a separate 'online' application process. This does not allow applications for criminal legal aid to be identified on the basis of postcode information. Therefore, it is not possible to provide details of criminal legal aid applications submitted from residents in the Hazel Grove constituency area, nor from those residents in each local authority area in the north-west.
	However, following the introduction of means testing in October 2006, the Legal Services Commission can identify the number of criminal legal aid applications submitted to the neighbouring Stockport magistrates court (see Table 2). These applications will include those submitted from defendants charged with an indictable only offence and facing trial before Manchester Minshull street Crown court. A proportion of these applications will have come from individuals resident in the Hazel Grove constituency area.
	Table 2 also provides the total number of applications submitted to all 42 magistrates courts covered by the north-west region of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS). An analysis of these data by individual court would be provided only at disproportionate cost. As with the data for Stockport magistrates court, the applications will include a proportion from individuals who are resident outside the north-west region.
	
		
			  Table 1: Civil legal aid applications for representation, and legal aid certificates granted-Hazel Grove and north-west local authority areas-last five financial years 
			   Applications  Certificates 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Hazel Grove constituency 84 84 108 113 118 64 68 70 78 85 
			
			  North-west local authority areas   
			 Allerdale 215 185 196 216 153 160 137 149 154 109 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 353 348 354 282 221 287 285 279 225 157 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,100 1,090 1,105 1,034 1,131 891 915 928 829 935 
			 Blackpool 1,099 1,237 1,178 1,049 1,102 863 986 949 825 908 
			 Bolton 1,295 1,171 1,194 1,191 1,163 1,008 926 978 979 988 
			 Burnley 619 665 725 637 568 458 507 566 506 455 
			 Bury 514 528 528 499 551 379 412 401 380 421 
			 Carlisle 530 534 465 428 397 419 418 380 367 315 
			 Chester 512 404 409 380 480 384 327 305 296 367 
			 Chorley 304 321 268 227 306 225 263 209 174 239 
			 Congleton 114 160 170 142 129 81 120 128 115 106 
			 Copeland 196 241 237 231 195 161 184 190 186 142 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 304 334 293 267 264 240 263 244 227 228 
			 Eden 91 78 95 84 72 73 56 70 71 48 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 150 167 189 156 182 118 132 146 131 138 
			 Fylde 189 198 170 137 118 136 150 132 99 93 
			 Halton 505 476 460 447 539 386 371 367 368 441 
			 Hyndburn 559 575 470 380 360 457 440 358 276 292 
			 Knowsley 360 365 366 353 300 247 302 281 276 244 
			 Lancaster 570 578 557 504 447 437 471 436 407 337 
			 Liverpool 2,388 2,366 2,576 2,279 2,538 1,869 1,852 2,053 1,921 2,066 
			 Macclesfield 219 187 213 175 225 164 155 179 141 189 
			 Manchester 3,057 2,677 2,591 2,361 2,454 2,470 2,178 2,102 1,913 1,977 
			 Oldham 937 882 967 874 910 731 714 804 720 755 
			 Pendle 318 228 243 192 221 220 172 175 145 165 
			 Preston 1,062 1,039 865 809 859 899 856 735 657 681 
			 Ribble Valley 26 30 18 19 29 18 28 16 14 17 
			 Rochdale 718 785 822 763 812 567 672 692 624 687 
			 Rossendale 158 134 143 104 128 122 112 107 70 99 
			 Salford 1,403 1,348 1,301 1,054 1,015 1,188 1,151 1,134 900 848 
			 Sefton 1,203 1,129 1,083 997 1,002 931 856 818 783 803 
			 South Lakeland 189 215 224 234 247 150 174 181 177 208 
			 South Ribble 68 58 51 31 52 55 40 34 28 34 
			 St. Helens 929 938 891 920 1,118 759 760 738 752 926 
			 Stockport 1,123 1,153 1,270 1,164 1,179 866 912 994 871 896 
			 Tameside 930 850 904 731 734 745 722 780 602 575 
			 Trafford 577 534 462 531 729 486 430 382 401 561 
			 Vale Royal 328 393 388 367 504 234 282 288 278 400 
			 Warrington 527 511 465 404 450 400 398 330 328 337 
			 West Lancashire 262 244 243 212 237 215 205 205 176 204 
			 Wigan 1,012 1,145 1,320 1,343 1,371 767 836 937 896 958 
			 Wirral 1,649 1,822 1,831 1,682 1,885 1,354 1,531 1,493 1,445 1,625 
			 Wyre 306 321 314 281 264 216 239 244 209 192 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Legal aid applications submitted and granted by (a) Stockport magistrates court and (b) all magistrates courts in the HMCS north-west region 
			   October 2006 to March 2007  April 2007 to March 2008  April 2008 to March 2009  April 2009  to  October 2009 
			  Stockport MC 
			 Applications submitted 1,421 2,704 2,960 1,594 
			 Applications granted 1,241 2,505 2,832 1,535 
			  
			  All north-west MCs 
			 Applications submitted 48,196 98,791 101,996 58,311 
			 Applications granted 42,833 92,694 96,406 55,325

Probation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanism exists for probation trusts and probation areas in Wales to be reimbursed for the cost to them of  (a) changes in the number of staff they employ and  (b) redundancy payments in the period to April 2010.

Maria Eagle: All Probation Areas/Trusts in Wales have identified efficiency savings in their budgets. It is anticipated that any staff reorganisation or redundancies that may arise before April 2010 will be met from this money.

Probation Officers

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the harmonisation of the conditions of service of probation service staff in the event of the establishment of an all-Wales probation trust.

Maria Eagle: Job Evaluation exercises previously carried out within Probation should minimise the number of harmonisation issues. These issues would be dealt with if the Trust application process is successful and once the Trust becomes a legal body, as there is no power to do so before the Trust is legally established. The harmonisation activities would be undertaken in a phased approach after 1 April 2010.

Bonn Declaration

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated under each budget heading for the purposes of meeting its obligations under the Bonn Declaration in each year from 2001 to 2008.  [Official Report, 8 April 2010, Vol. 508, c. 13MC.]

Gareth Thomas: The 2001 Bonn Declaration committed signatories to providing $410 million per year, from 2005-08, for developing countries to respond to climate change. The European Community was one of these signatories and the UK Government agreed to contribute approximately £30 million ($61,467 million) per year. The following table provides the amount spent through each budget heading, which has exceed that original commitment.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Special Climate Change Fund 3.3 3.3 3.8 
			 Clean Energy Investment Framework 0.43 1.3 0.36 
			 Global Environment Facility (climate focal area) 10.4 10.4 11.66 
			 Bilateral (including research) 9.27 18.35 26.18 
			 Least Developed Countries Fund - - 3.5 
			 Other Government Department spending 6.63 7.4 7.4 
			 Total 30.03 40.75 52.9 
		
	
	The Department for International Development (DFID) contributed through the Special Climate Change Fund, the Clean Energy Investment Framework, the Global Environment Facility, the Least Developed Countries Fund and through Bilateral aid.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contacts between British forces and the Taliban have occurred in each month of 2009.

Bob Ainsworth: The numbers of troops in contact events (regardless of the instigator) involving the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and insurgents in Helmand province as part of Task Force Helmand for each complete month from January 2009 for which verified data are available are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of contacts( 1) 
			  2009  
			 January 180 
			 February 180 
			 March 250 
			 April 150 
			 May 210 
			 June 420 
			 July 410 
			 August 400 
			 September 410 
			 October 340 
			 (1)Rounded to the nearest 10. 
		
	
	ISAF forces operating in Helmand come from a number of different nations, which often operate closely alongside each other and alongside Afghan Army and police units. Without undertaking a detailed assessment of each engagement, it is not possible to define precisely in every case whether an attack was aimed at UK forces, at our ISAF partners, or against Afghan units. Data are therefore collected on the number of incidents involving ISAF forces in Helmand without attempting to identify the nationality of the forces actually being attacked. The environment in which forces are operating makes it extremely difficult to distinguish between incidents initiated by insurgent forces and those initiated by ISAF.
	This data is based on information derived from a number of sources and can be an estimate only, not least because of the difficulties in ensuring a consistent interpretation of the basis for collating statistics in a complex fast-moving multinational operational environment.

Armed Forces: Health

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel in each armed service were classified as  (a) unfit for duty,  (b) fit for limited deployability for medical reasons and  (c) overweight at the latest date for which information is available.

Kevan Jones: The MOD is currently in the process of modifying the criteria against which it collates management information on the medical fitness of Service personnel. Whereas previously we have measured the medical fitness for task of Service personnel, we are now moving to a process of measuring the numbers who are medically fully deployable, limited deployable and non-deployable. This should help us to focus our efforts on maximising the numbers available to deploy on operations.
	The single Services and DASA have been working on the collection and validation of figures recorded against the new criteria, using data obtained from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. The aim is to provide reliable, validated data by spring 2010.
	A new Armed Forces Weight Management Policy came into force on 1 October 2009, which provides policy for the measurement of body composition and the management of Service personnel who demonstrate increased risk of ill health and inadequate physical fitness owing to their weight. The policy requires each Service to provide annual body composition measurement (BCM) for all personnel, in order to identify an individual's level of health risk and encourage maintenance of a healthy body weight.
	Each of the single Services is implementing the policy. The Naval Service Fitness Information Software System (FISS) is currently undergoing user testing and will go live during January 2010, with the first full reporting period being completed 12 months later.
	The Army FISS began on 1 April 2009, but roll-out is still in progress and data for a full annual reporting period is not yet available.
	The RAF FISS began on 1 October 2007. However, the provision of the data by individuals is voluntary, and prior to the introduction of the revised policy on 1 October 2009 around half of RAF personnel had chosen not to do so. We are therefore unable to supply comprehensive data until a full annual reporting period completes in October 2010.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of veterans resident in  (a) Scotland,  (b) England,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland who have a health condition related to their service.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 7 December 2009
	The information is not held centrally or in the format requested.
	It is only possible to identify veterans who have a health condition related to their service if they have made a claim and received an award under the relevant compensation scheme. The War Pensions Scheme (WPS) provides no-fault compensation for all ex-service personnel where illness, injury or death is caused by service before 6 April 2005. The Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) which came into force on 6 April 2005, provides no-fault compensation for injury, illness or death caused by service on or after that date.
	The following tables provide details of those veterans living in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that were receiving a pension, compensation or both between 2003 and 2009 for a health condition related to their service. The data provided here differs from earlier responses as the level of detail supplied is only available from 2003 onwards.
	
		
			  Veterans receiving a war pension between 2003 and 2009 
			  Country  All  Ongoing war pension as at 30 June 2009  Gratuity award 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2009  Nil award 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2009 
			 All 169,935 142,700 19,490 7,750 
			 England 136,290 114,070 15,945 6,275 
			 Scotland 17,780 15,715 1,355 705 
			 Wales 10,870 8,940 1,460 470 
			 Northern Ireland 4,730 3,705 725 295 
			 Great Britain 270 265 (1)- (1)- 
		
	
	
		
			  Veterans receiving compensation through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme between 2003 and 2009 
			  Country  Awarded under AFCS 
			 Total 1,670 
			 England 1,395 
			 Scotland 105 
			 Wales 70 
			 Northern Ireland 35 
			 Great Britain 60 
		
	
	
		
			  Veterans receiving both a war pension and compensation through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme between 2003 and 2009 
			  Country  Awarded under both schemes 
			 Total 290 
			 England 225 
			 Scotland 20 
			 Wales 20 
			 Northern Ireland 25 
			 (1) Represents a value of fewer than five.  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five 2. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of their parts. 3. May include personnel who have returned to service. 
		
	
	The 'Great Britain' category refers to individuals that have been identified as residing within Great Britain, but due to invalid address data, cannot be allocated to a particular country.
	Due to the time period given and the age profile of the recipients, it is possible that some may have died.

Game and Wild Birds Ordnance 2008

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 92-3W, on Cyprus, what guidance he has issued to the Sovereign Base Areas Administration on whether the Game and Wild Birds Ordnance 2008 prohibits the trappings of wild birds in all circumstances.

Kevan Jones: The ordnance makes clear that large scale and non-selective methods of capturing, pursuing or killing wild birds are prohibited. The exception is where such activity is carried out strictly in accordance with a licence issued in that regard by the chief officer for reasons of public health and safety or conservation. The Secretary of State for Defence has therefore not issued any guidance to the Sovereign Base areas administration in relation to the interpretation of the Game and Wild Birds Ordinance 2008.

Children: Poverty

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what percentage of children are living in poverty in each region and country of the UK; and what percentage of children in poverty lived in households where one or more members of the household were in work in each year from 2005 to 2009.

Helen Goodman: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the number and percentage of children living in low income households in each region and country of the UK is given in the table for periods where data are available. Regional data is presented as three-year averages, due to variability in single-year estimates.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and proportion of children who are living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median income, before housing costs, by country and region, United Kingdom, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  Country or region  Number (millions)  Percentage (per cent.) 
			 England 2.4 22 
			 North East 0.1 28 
			 North West 0.4 27 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0.3 26 
			 East Midlands 0.2 26 
			 West Midlands 0.3 27 
			 East of England 0.2 15 
			 London 0.4 23 
			 South East 0.3 15 
			 South West 0.2 18 
			 Scotland 0.2 21 
			 Wales 0.2 27 
			 Northern Ireland 0.1 24 
		
	
	Information on the percentage of children in low income households where one or more members of the household were in work is in the table for years where data are available.
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportion of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income who are in households with at least one adult in work, United Kingdom, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			   Proportion of children 
			 2005-06 55 
			 2006-07 57 
			 2007-08 57

Revenue and Customs: Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: From information available, the total cost of hotel accommodation for HM Revenue and Customs officials in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 April to October 2009 7,680,247 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 17,785,927 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 18,064,771 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 17,664,696 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 (1)- 
			 (1) Figures unavailable 
		
	
	Spend figures between April 2007 to present day is based on management information provided by HMRCs 'Hotel' contract supplier.

Welfare Tax Credits: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken to resolve disputed tax credit cases involving custody of children was in  (a) Chorley and  (b) Lancashire in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: This information is not available. HM Revenue and Customs endeavour to award all new claims as quickly as possible but delays can arise where enquiries have to be made and the conclusions are disputed.

Christmas

David Davies: To ask the Solicitor-General how many Christmas trees were purchased by the Law Officers' Departments in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Vera Baird: Where available, details on the purchases and polices of each Law Officers' Department are outlined as follows. In general where Christmas trees have been purchased attempts have been made to source and dispose of them in a sustainable way, as well as to keep costs to a minimum.
	The Attorney-General's Office has purchased four Christmas trees during the last five years at a total cost of £409.60. This year due to cost cutting measures no tree has been purchased.
	All the trees were purchased from suppliers who only buy trees from accredited sustainable sources. All the trees were recycled, ending up as wood chips for bridal paths or fertiliser. The exact breakdown of costs on a yearly basis is as follows;
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 112.00 
			 2006-07 105.85 
			 2007-08 117.90 
			 2008-09 74.85 
		
	
	The Serious Fraud Office has purchased the following Christmas trees over the last five years:
	
		
			   Number  £ (inc. VAT) 
			 2005 1 Christmas tree purchased from Christmas Tree Land 56.99 
			 2006 1 Christmas tree purchased from Christmas Tree Land 64.98 
			 2007 1 Christmas tree purchased from Christmas Tree Land (1)70.00 
			 2008 1 artificial tree hire service from Phs Greenleaf 287.82 
			 2009 1 'Real' tree hire service from Phs Greenleaf 408.82 
			 (1) Estimated figure 
		
	
	From 2005 to 2007 the Christmas trees purchased from Christmas Tree Land were grown on plantations and harvested like any other sustainable crop. The trees were disposed of via Camden Council's Christmas tree collection service. In 2008 the artificial tree was collected by Phs Greenleaf at the end of the hire period for reuse. In 2009 the 'Real' Tree from Phs Greenleaf was from a sustainable tree farm and will be collected by Phs, Gunnersbury branch, who dispose of trees via the local council who then use the chippings on pathways and nature trails throughout the borough.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) purchases a maximum of one tree per annum which is situated in its reception area. HMCPSI does not record such costs separately from other general accommodation costs and is therefore unable to provide information in respect of past years. However, the amount spent in December 2009 was £39 and this is believed to be the highest amount.
	Records are not kept on from where the trees were sourced, what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees and by what process the trees were disposed. Where possible and practicable all waste is recycled usually through its local authority.
	Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office has made no purchases of real Christmas trees during each of the last five years. It did however purchase three artificial Christmas trees in November 2005, at a total cost of £300, all of which are still in use.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep central records of the number, cost, provenance or disposal arrangements in relation to Christmas trees and could provide this information only at a disproportionate cost.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department and the National Fraud Authority have not purchased any Christmas trees during the last five years.

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many senior Crown Prosecution Service staff at grades above level D are High Court advocates; and at how many court sessions such staff advocated in court in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service currently employs 99 staff above level D who are higher court advocates. During the 2008-09 financial year, higher court advocates at level E or above conducted prosecutions at 1,425 sessions in the Crown court or higher courts. The following table shows the data for the last five completed years. For the years since 2007-08, this data includes principal crown advocates, whose main function is the preparation and presentation of serious and complex cases at the crown court, as well as other senior lawyers in the CPS whose main function is in managing the operation of the prosecution service in London and across each of the 42 CPS areas. These staff are graded as senior civil servants, chief crown prosecutors, and level E unit heads.
	
		
			  Higher court advocates, Crown court attendances by grade 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Grade  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs 
			 Senior Civil Servants 2 1 6 1 11 1 3 1 2 3 
			 Chief Crown Prosecutors 59 16 74 19 112 19 64 22 49 23 
			 Level E 440 72 1,113 70 1-204 72 1,834 71 1,334 67 
			 Principal Crown Advocate - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 40 6 
			 Total 501 89 1,193 90 1,327 92 1,901 94 1,425 99

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many complaints of bullying, harassment or discrimination on grounds of  (a) sexual orientation,  (b) race,  (c) disability and  (d) gender were made against Crown Prosecution Service staff in (i) London and (ii) each of the 42 regional offices in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints are unresolved.

Vera Baird: Until 9 December 2009, there have been a total of 28internal complaints relating to bullying, harassment or discrimination. 14 of these complaints are currently ongoing. None of these complaints relate to  (a) sexual orientation; nine relate to  (b) race; six relate to  (c) disability and two relate to  (d) gender. 11 of these complaints relate to bullying and harassment but were not categorised under the headings listed in  (a) to  (d). 12 internal complaints were raised in London-they included five race complaints, one disability complaint and six relating to bullying, harassment and discrimination. The remaining 16 complaints were raised in the CPS's areas outside London. A breakdown is provided in Table 1.
	In 2008, there were a total of 36 internal complaints made relating to bullying, harassment or discrimination. Seven of these complaints are currently ongoing. None of the complaints relate to  (a) sexual orientation; six relate to  (b) race; six to  (c) disability; and four relate to  (d) gender. The remaining 20 internal complaints relate to bullying and harassment but were not categorised under the headings  (a) to  (d). From the 36 internal complaints, 12 were raised in London (they included three race complaints and nine complaints relating to bullying, harassment and discrimination). The remaining 24 were raised in the CPS's areas outside London. A breakdown is provided at Table 2.
	Prior to 2008, the CPS only held central records on the number of complaints made under the generic heading of bullying, harassment or discrimination. In 2005 there were 36 complaints, 15 of which were raised in CPS London; in 2006 there were 28 complaints with 15 being raised in London; and in 2007, there were 26 complaints, three of which were raised in CPS London. The following tables provide a further breakdown of the areas.
	
		
			  Table 1: 2009 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment discrimination  (a) Sexual orientation  (b) Race  (c) Disability  (d) Gender 
			 London (1)6 - (2)5 (3)1 - 
			 HQ Casework Directorate - - - (3)1 - 
			 Cleveland 1 - - - - 
			 Durham - - - (3)1 - 
			 Essex - - - 1 - 
			 Humberside (3)1 - - - - 
			 Lancashire 1 - 1 - - 
			 Nottinghamshire - - (3)1 - - 
			 Surrey (3)1 - - - - 
			 Thames Valley - - (3)1 (3)1 2 
			 West Mercia 1 - - - - 
			 West Midlands - - - 1 - 
			 West Yorkshire - - 1 - - 
			 Total 11 0 9 6 2 
			 (1) Four ongoing (2) Two ongoing (3) Ongoing 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: 2008 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination  (a) Sexual orientation  (b) Race  (c) Disability  (d) Gender 
			 London (1)9 - (2)3 - - 
			 Avon and Somerset - - - 1 - 
			 HQ Casework Directorate - - - 1 - 
			 Derby 1 - - - - 
			 Devon and Cornwall - - - 1 - 
			 Essex - - - 1 - 
			 Gwent - - - - 1 
			 HQ 2 - - 1 - 
			 Kent 1 - - - - 
			 Leicestershire - - - 1 - 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 - - - - 
			 Northumbria - - 1 - - 
			 South Yorkshire 1 - - - - 
			 Surrey - - - - 1 
			 Thames Valley 1 - - - - 
			 West Mercia 1 - - - - 
			 West Midlands 2 - - - 1 
			 West Yorkshire - - (2)2 - 1 
			 Total 20 0 6 6 4 
			 (1) Five ongoing (2) One ongoing 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: 2007 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination 
			 London 3 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 
			 HQ Casework Directorate 2 
			 CPS Direct 1 
			 Cumbria 1 
			 Derby 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 
			 Essex 1 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1 
			 HQ 1 
			 Humberside 1 
			 Lancashire 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 
			 Manchester 1 
			 Norfolk 1 
			 Suffolk 1 
			 Thames Valley 2 
			 West Midlands 3 
			 West Yorkshire 2 
			 Total 26 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: 2006 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination 
			 London 15 
			 HQ Casework Directorate 2 
			 Durham 2 
			 Essex 1 
			 Hertfordshire 1 
			 Lancashire 1 
			 South Wales 1 
			 Surrey 1 
			 Thames Valley 1 
			 West Midlands 1 
			 West Yorkshire 1 
			 Wiltshire 1 
			 Total 28 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: 2005 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination 
			 London 15 
			 Cumbria 1 
			 Derby 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 
			 East Midlands 1 
			 Eastern 1 
			 Essex 1 
			 Gwent 1 
			 HQ 2 
			 Humberside 1 
			 Kent 1 
			 Manchester 2 
			 South East 1 
			 South Wales 1 
			 South Yorkshire 1 
			 Thames Valley 1 
			 West Midlands 4 
			 Total 36

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what proportion of staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices are from black and minority ethnic groups; and whether a comparative estimate has been made of the proportion of the population comprised of people from black and minority ethnic groups in each such area.

Vera Baird: The current representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) staff in the CPS is 15 per cent. This compares with a national figure of 12.4 per cent. of the working age population being of BME origin. The CPS employs 41 per cent. BME staff in London, its highest representation of BME staff, compared with 35.8 per cent. of BME people of working age in London. In other CPS areas, the representation of BME staff range from 1 per cent. in Cumbria and North Yorkshire to 23 per cent. in West Midlands compared with a BME working population of 0.4 per cent. and 26.9 per cent. respectively. The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the data.
	
		
			  Black and minority ethni c staff 
			   CPS areas  Community-working age 
			   Number  Percentage  Total  Number  Percentage  Total 
			 CPS London 567 41 1,369 1,851,500 35.8 5,177,300 
			 CPS Avon and Somerset 9 5 182 38,100 4.7 816,500 
			 CPS Bedfordshire 16 22 73 80,300 21.4 375,200 
			 CPS Cambridgeshire 9 12 75 25,100 6.7 376,400 
			 CPS Cheshire 5 4 112 12,300 2.0 614,000 
			 CPS Cleveland 3 3 103 13,700 4.0 344,900 
			 CPS Cumbria 1 1 83 1,200 0.4 295,400 
			 CPS Derbyshire 13 11 120 34,700 5.7 608,700 
			 CPS Devon and Cornwall 6 5 128 10,600 1.3 817,500 
			 CPS Dorset 9 12 77 16,100 2.9 553,700 
			 CPS Durham 4 4 97 5,500 1.5 372,900 
			 CPS Dyfed Powys - 0 61 2,300 0.8 293,500 
			 CPS Essex 14 7 193 59,200 5.8 1,021,100 
			 CPS Gloucestershire 5 9 56 32,400 5.2 629,100 
			 CPS Greater Manchester 41 9 473 202,300 13.9 1,455,200 
			 CPS Gwent 4 5 83 7,800 2.3 336,000 
			 CPS Hampshire 11 4 247 63,900 5.0 1,284,800 
			 CPS Hertfordshire 19 16 117 56,900 8.7 657,300 
			 CPS Humberside 4 3 120 10,800 6.5 166,500 
			 CPS Kent 13 7 181 39,300 4.7 833,200 
			 CPS Lancashire 12 5 261 93,700 9.0 1,042,200 
			 CPS Leicestershire 27 22 123 111,400 18.9 589,800 
			 CPS Lincolnshire 4 6 71 14,600 2.4 599,900 
			 CPS Merseyside 6 2 256 35,600 4.3 822,800 
			 CPS Norfolk 6 7 92 12,100 2.5 492,400 
			 CPS North Wales 3 4 83 2,900 0.7 399,500 
			 CPS North Yorkshire 1 1 87 12,600 1.9 675,700 
			 CPS Northamptonshire 16 21 78 46,000 8.7 530,800 
			 CPS Northumbria 9 3 274 39,800 4.6 869,500 
			 CPS Nottinghamshire 13 7 180 64,500 9.3 695,700 
			 CPS South Wales 13 5 243 36,900 4.8 762,300 
			 CPS South Yorkshire 10 5 196 64,400 9.6 669,900 
			 CPS Staffordshire 7 5 146 34,600 5.3 651,700 
			 CPS Suffolk 3 4 70 14,300 3.4 418,000 
			 CPS Surrey 13 15 85 67,900 8.8 769,600 
			 CPS Sussex 10 6 171 45,000 5.0 895,500 
			 CPS Thames Valley 36 15 248 157,800 13.1 1,203,700 
			 CPS Warwickshire 7 16 43 23,700 7.3 322,700 
			 CPS West Mercia 5 3 151 23,100 3.3 707,200 
			 CPS West Midlands 117 23 512 429,200 26.9 1,593,100 
			 CPS West Yorkshire 32 10 330 203,800 13.4 1,520,800 
			 CPS Wiltshire 2 3 62 5,900 2.2 264,000 
			 Business Centres total(1) 14 10 147 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 Casework total(1) 71 20 356 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 Head Quarters total(1) 92 18 507 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 CPS Direct 18 11 163 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 Total 1,300 15 8,885 4,151,700 12.4 33,526,000 
			 (1) Staff in these divisions work in multiple locations across the country including home working.  Notes: 1. Data taken from quarterly Intranet Stats published to CPS Infonet. 2. Data may be subject to change due to retrospective changes in the HR database. 3. Data excludes career break staff. 4. Communities data taken from ONS NOMIS database (Labour Force Statistics).  Source: HR database Trent as at 1 October 2009.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Solicitor-General how many overseas training courses were attended by civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Vera Baird: During the last full financial year, 2008-09, three overseas training courses were attended by staff from Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office. A single member of staff attended each course, and the overall cost to the Department was £548.
	The Crown Prosecution Service is a devolved organisation. Although expenditure data on overseas travel is available the Department does not keep central records of the reason for travel or how many overseas training courses have been attended by CPS staff nor the associated costs, and therefore the information requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	No staff from the remaining Law Officers' Departments have attended any overseas training courses during the latest period for which figures are available.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built in  (a) Ashford constituency and  (b) Kent in each of the last 12 months.

Ian Austin: Information on new affordable homes is not available by constituency.
	In 2008-09, 250 affordable homes were built in Ashford local authority and 1,940 in Kent.
	These figures are from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS), and local authority returns to CLG.
	Figures are only available on a monthly basis from the IMS data, they are not available monthly from local authority returns. The monthly IMS figures are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  New Build affordable homes provided with funding by the HCA 
			   Ashford LA  Kent 
			  2008   
			 April 0 30 
			 May 0 0 
			 June 0 40 
			 July 0 10 
			 August 30 110 
			 September 20 100 
			 October 50 170 
			 November 10 60 
			 December 40 120 
			
			  2009   
			 January 20 160 
			 February 10 420 
			 March 90 670 
			 Total with HCA funding1 250 1,890 
			  Note: The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, so the totals may not sum due to rounding. 
		
	
	Total affordable housing supply includes social rent, intermediate rent and low cost home ownership. Not all affordable housing is provided by new build completions, as some supply can come from acquisitions; in 2008-09, a total of 260 additional affordable homes were provided in Ashford, and 2,370 were provided in England (new build and acquisitions).

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were available in rural areas through the  (a) HomeBuy Direct,  (b) New Build HomeBuy,  (c) First-Time Buyer's Initiative,  (d) Open Market HomeBuy and  (e) Social HomeBuy schemes on the latest date for which figures are available.

John Healey: For  (a), 259 homes were available in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants under HomeBuy Direct in 2009-10, as at end September 2009:
	For  (b), 408 homes were completed in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants under New Build HomeBuy in 2009-10, as at end September 2009:
	For  (c),  (d) and  (e) First Time Buyers Initiative, Open Market HomeBuy and Social HomeBuy; we do not hold data centrally on the number of homes available in rural areas.
	 Data source
	Homes and Communities Agency

Community Relations: Elderly

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to reduce social isolation amongst elderly people.

Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government has various programmes and policies which contribute towards reducing social isolation among older people.
	The Supporting People (SP) programme provides housing-related support which can help older people to maintain health and well-being, and take part in their communities. Between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009, SP outcomes data show 9,212 older people receiving long-term housing-related support services were supported to establish contact with external services, family or friends, and 6,757 were supported to participate in leisure, cultural, faith or learning activities.
	Our work to create more cohesive, active and empowered communities includes strengthening third sector and voluntary organisations that will provide important support to local groups who are in a position to work actively in local communities. We are supporting a £5.5 million cross-Government scheme to promote intergenerational volunteering and encourage meaningful interaction between young and old generations.
	Communities and Local Government encourages the adoption of Lifetime Neighbourhoods principles, and will shortly commission a report to provide advice to local authorities in making a reality of Lifetime Neighbourhoods.
	Digital technology can also be extremely valuable in helping people to stay in regular contact with their families and friends. Communities and Local Government is working with DWP and other partners to deliver a commitment to run digital inclusion projects targeted at giving people in sheltered housing access to new technology.

Council Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 22 June 2009,  Official Report, column 642W, on council housing, if he will place in the Library a copy of the research reports on  (a) rent analysis and  (b) debt analysis.

Ian Austin: The documents have been placed in the Library. They have been available on the Communities and Local Government website since 21 July.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Barbara Follett: The communication directorate of the Department for Communities and Local Government has commissioned:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Photography  Video 
			 2006-07 470 0 
			 2007-08 794 0 
			 2008-09 445 3,658

Empty Property: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many long-term empty properties there were in Leeds in each year since 1990;
	(2)  how many long-term empty properties there were in Leeds, West constituency in each year since 1990.

Barbara Follett: The number of long-term empty domestic dwellings in Leeds since 2004 are shown in the following table. Data prior to 2004 are not available and data are not available at constituency level.
	
		
			   Long-term empty dwellings 
			 1 November 2004 6,445 
			 10 October 2005 4,542 
			 9 October 2006 4,070 
			 8 October 2007 4,525 
			 6 October 2008 4,712 
			 5 October 2009 4,724 
		
	
	The data are taken from the Council Tax Base (CTB) form completed annually in the autumn by all billing authorities in England and returned to Communities and Local
	Government.
	Details of the number of empty non-domestic hereditaments are not currently available.

Equality Bill 2008-09 then 2009-10

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 13 May 2009, Official Report, column 838W, on the Equality Bill, whether local authorities will be compensated under the new burdens principle for the costs to them of implementing the provisions of the Equality Bill.

Barbara Follett: The Government are committed to ensuring that all new burdens falling on local authorities are fully and properly funded so that there is no upward pressure on council tax bills. Where appropriate, funding is provided through the formula grant system or through specific grants.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to publish updated national and regional business plans for the FireControl project.

Shahid Malik: At present we have no plans to publish an updated FiReControl Business Case.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received on the FireControl project from  (a) fire and rescue and  (b) local authorities in the last 12 months.

Shahid Malik: FiReControl is being delivered in close partnership with local government. Over the last 12 months, representations have been received on a regular and ongoing basis.

Fire Services: Contracts

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which contractors have been awarded contracts worth over £1 million under the FireControl regional fire control room project to date.

Shahid Malik: The following have been awarded contracts worth over £1 million under the FiReControl project:
	 Contractors
	Actica
	Atkins
	Canada Life Ltd.
	CB Richard Ellis
	Chief Fire Officers' Association
	Cornwell
	Denton, Wilde and Sapte
	EADS
	Leafrange Ltd.
	PA Consulting
	Turner and Townsend
	VT Group
	 Developers
	Broadlands Wolverhampton Ltd.
	Cambridge Research Park Ltd.
	Easter Properties (Fareham) Ltd. and Norwich Union Life and Pensions Ltd.
	East Properties Ltd. and Norwich Union Life and Pensions Ltd.
	Summerfield Developments (SW) Ltd.
	Yorkcourt Properties Ltd.
	 Landlords
	Canada Life Ltd.
	Control Centre Limited Partnership Canada Life Ltd.
	Leafrange Ltd.

Fire Services: Finance

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent  (a) assessment of the progress on and  (b) estimate of the cost of the FiReControl project is.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr. Reed) on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 761W.
	The estimated full cost of implementing FiReControl is £420 million.

Fire Services: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons other than specification changes expenditure on the FireControl project has exceeded the initial budget.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr. Reed) on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 764W.

Homelessness: Young People

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people aged between 16 and 25 years have been registered as homeless in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library and via the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/homelessnessq32009
	Data collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty to secure that suitable accommodation is available ('homeless acceptances'). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation (TA) until a settled home becomes available.
	Figures on homeless acceptances by age group of the applicant, for each financial year since 1998-99 can be found in table 10(b) of the statistical release mentioned above. The table shows number of applicants who are aged between 16 and 24 years old. The equivalent 1997-98 figures can be found in earlier additions of the release, accessible from the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness

Homes and Communities Agency: Assets

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 175-76W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, when and at what cost each of the negative valued assets held by the Homes and Communities Agency was acquired;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 175-76W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, what negative valued assets are held by the Homes and Communities Agency;
	(3)  which of the negatively valued property interests owned by the Homes and Communities Agency are related to  (a) lease or leaseback interests,  (b) rental guarantees and  (c) assets where disengagement is dependent upon expenditure which exceeds the amount expected to be realised through future asset sales.

John Healey: Negative value assets are held in Bristol (1), Gloucester (1), Winchester (1), Milton Keynes (4), Peterborough (1), and Trafford Park, Manchester (1).
	Of these, three were included as part of the 82 redundant hospital sites purchased by the Urban Regeneration Agency, one of the HCA's predecessor bodies, during the 2006 financial year. The total liability associated with the three assets was £1.8 million.
	The remaining six properties were originally taken on by the Commission for the New Towns, another of the HCA's predecessor bodies. Four of these were taken on over 10 years ago, and it is not possible to find the cost of acquiring these assets other than at disproportionate cost. Of the remaining two sites, one was taken on in 2004 for £19,000, and one in 2005. In the 2005 case, the rental guarantee of £49,000 only applied from 2009.
	Of the nine property interests with negative assets, eight are in relation to rental liabilities existing on leasehold properties i.e. Lease or leaseback interests, and one is a rental guarantee. The HCA does not hold any asset where disengagement is dependent upon investment, the cost of which exceeds the value to be realised through future asset sales.

Housing: Autism

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take under the Adult Autism Strategy to meet the housing needs of people with autism.

Ian Austin: CLG is working with the Department of Health to consider the housing needs of people with autism.
	People with autism may have their housing needs met by the Supporting People programme which provides revenue funds for local authorities to commission housing related support services for vulnerable people in their area, to enable them to develop independent living skills. However, the programme is a locally delivered and managed programme and it is for each local authority to allocate the available resource based on local needs and priorities.
	PSA 16 sets out the Government's aim that the most vulnerable adults are offered the chance to get back on a path to a more successful life by increasing the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and in employment, education or training. CLG lead on the settled accommodation aspect of the PSA and the PSA16 client group will include people with autism who are assessed as having a moderate to severe learning disability, or receiving secondary mental health services.

Housing: Autism

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which section of his Department is responsible for implementation of the Autism Strategy in relation to housing.

Ian Austin: The Housing Management and Support Directorate are responsible for the housing aspect of the Adult Autism Strategy.

Housing: Elderly

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will develop a national strategy for retirement housing.

Ian Austin: The Government published their Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society 'Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods' in February 2008, which sets out our strategy for all types of housing, including specialised housing for older people, such as retirement housing.
	One of the commitments in the 2008 strategy was to commission an innovation panel to look at the future of specialised housing for older people. This panel published its report 'HAPPI--Housing our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation' last week, and we will be considering how the recommendations in the report can support the ongoing implementation of 'Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods'.

Housing: Energy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of  (a) owner occupiers,  (b) social tenants and  (c) private tenants spent (i) between zero and three per cent., (ii) from four to six per cent., (iii) from seven to nine per cent. and (iv) 10 per cent. or more of their total household expenditure on electricity, gas and other fuels in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: The following table provides estimates of the number and proportion of owner occupiers, social renters and private renters spending the requested proportions of their disposable income on electricity, gas and other fuels in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. These estimates are based on data from the ONS Expenditure and Food Survey.
	
		
			  Household expenditure on electricity, gas and other fuels, England, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  All households 
			   Owner occupiers  Social renters  Private renters 
			  Proportion of disposable income spent on fuels  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Thousand  
			 0-3% 9,288 8,453 7,903 1,976 1,569 1,676 1,493 1,480 1,524 
			 4-6% 3,527 4,188 4,297 869 902 1,136 440 467 718 
			 7-9% 1,014 1,232 1,266 448 534 441 175 234 216 
			 10% or more 740 991 1,041 541 530 616 251 246 277 
			 All 14,569 14,869 14,507 3,834 3,535 3,869 2,359 2,427 2,735 
			   
			  Percentage  
			 0-3% 64 57 54 52 44 43 63 61 56 
			 4-6% 24 28 30 23 26 29 19 19 26 
			 7-9% 7 8 9 12 15 11 7 10 8 
			 10% or more 5 7 7 14 15 16 11 10 10 
			 All 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			  Source: Expenditure and Food Survey.

Housing: Floods

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assistance his Department provides to homeowners whose homes are flooded but who do not have flood insurance.

Rosie Winterton: The Department provides assistance in respect of flooding in exceptional circumstances. Following the summer 2007 floods we made available flood recovery grant of £18.4 million to support the work of the hardest hit local authorities in helping those people in their communities in greatest need, whether insured or not. In addition, in July 2008, £30.6 million was allocated under the Restoration Fund to support their continued efforts to rebuild their communities.
	Local authorities had flexibility to decide how best to use these funds based on their own local circumstances.
	On 20 November, we announced that a Community Recovery Fund of £1 million would be made available to local authorities affected by the Cumbria flooding. Again this is for local authorities to support those people in their communities in greatest need, whether insured or not, and local authorities will have flexibility in how they can use the fund.
	The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administer social fund crisis loans and community care grants, which provide help for the most vulnerable people with essential needs in an emergency. Crisis loans are intended for people on benefits or low income, and community care grants can only be used to help people on income-related benefits with little or no access to capital or other resources to meet the need.
	Social fund crisis loans can be paid to people in work in circumstances such as these, where they are victims of a disaster and in need of immediate help.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the house price affordability ratio for households on  (a) lower quintile and  (b) median earnings was in each local authority area for the most recent quarter available.

Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government do not hold household earnings data down to local authority level. Therefore we are unable to derive house price affordability ratios based on household earnings.

Housing: Prices

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio of lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings was in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given on 23 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 71-72W, to the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps).

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 305W, on housing: prices, what the average sale price of a home in a rural area was in each region in each year since 1997 in 2009-10 prices.

Ian Austin: The average sale price of a home in a rural area in each region at 2008 constant prices in each year since 1997 is presented as follows:
	
		
			   East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  South East  South West  West Midlands  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1997 107,437 89,621 n/a 77,875 99,463 142,458 111,339 107,251 85,342 
			 1998 114,441 93,022 n/a 76,020 101,030 154,679 117,681 111,782 84,352 
			 1999 124,937 99,644 n/a 81,445 106,974 170,908 129,314 120,810 88,035 
			 2000 139,890 106,538 n/a 81,848 111,902 196,075 146,245 129,034 91,259 
			 2001 155,994 116,183 n/a 83,993 121,275 211,826 160,865 142,541 96,842 
			 2002 184,406 137,116 n/a 94,321 137,090 239,296 189,328 166,628 113,323 
			 2003 205,980 162,931 n/a 111,706 159,710 261,644 216,438 189,009 135,749 
			 2004 221,536 180,591 n/a 135,430 186,542 277,668 236,833 210,901 162,349 
			 2005 227,703 187,011 n/a 145,344 192,407 279,585 238,220 214,706 169,678 
			 2006 233,404 188,657 n/a 151,110 199,364 290,583 243,213 219,904 176,849 
			 2007 239,819 191,829 n/a 150,707 205,262 301,810 254,397 220,604 178,803 
			 2008 227,682 179,643 n/a 146,057 196,094 291,108 239,038 210,432 170,405 
			  Note: Prices have been adjusted for inflation using the ONS Retail Price Index.  Source: Land Registry. Local authorities that are classed as rural under the DEFRA rural codes have been included and local authorities classed as urban by DEFRA have been filtered out.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 305W, on housing: prices, what the average sale price of a home in a rural area was in each region in  (a) each year since 1997 and  (b) each of the last 20 quarters.

Ian Austin: The average sale price of a home in a rural area in each region in  (a) each year since 1997 and  (b) each of the last 20 quarters is given as follows.
	
		
			  (a) Average sale price of a rural home by region for each year since 1997 
			  £ 
			   East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  South East  South West  West Midlands  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1997 78,777 65,714 n/a 57,101 72,931 104,456 81,638 78,641 62,576 
			 1998 86,790 70,546 n/a 57,652 76,619 117,306 89,247 84,773 63,971 
			 1999 96,204 76,728 n/a 62,714 82,372 131,602 99,574 93,026 67,789 
			 2000 110,909 84,466 n/a 64,891 88,720 155,454 115,948 102,302 72,353 
			 2001 125,856 93,736 n/a 67,765 97,844 170,901 129,785 115,002 78,132 
			 2002 151,268 112,476 n/a 77,371 112,454 196,294 155,306 136,684 92,959 
			 2003 173,856 137,520 n/a 94,285 134,802 220,838 182,683 159,531 114,577 
			 2004 192,555 156,966 n/a 117,713 162,139 241,344 205,851 183,311 141,110 
			 2005 203,533 167,161 n/a 129,917 171,984 249,909 212,934 191,916 151,668 
			 2006 215,258 173,989 n/a 139,362 183,864 267,991 224,304 202,808 163,099 
			 2007 230,664 184,506 n/a 144,954 197,426 290,289 244,685 212,182 171,977 
			 2008 227,682 179,643 n/a 146,057 196,094 291,108 239,038 210,432 170,405 
			  Source: Land Registry. Local authorities that are classed as rural under the DEFRA rural codes have been included and local authorities classed as Urban by DEFRA have been filtered out. 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Average sale price of a rural home by region for each of the last 20 quarters 
			  £ 
			   East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  South East  South West  West Midlands  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 2004 Q3 201,403 165,275 n/a 124,852 172,499 254,777 217,987 194,413 150,247 
			 2004 Q4 200,287 164,999 n/a 127,589 168,853 247,273 213,216 190,441 146,737 
			   
			 2005 Q1 198,655 163,653 n/a 121,321 165,270 243,341 209,892 187,410 144,221 
			 2005 Q2 198,979 164,224 n/a 125,629 170,227 244,044 208,012 189,632 147,101 
			 2005 Q3 208,001 170,096 n/a 132,190 176,047 257,993 218,430 195,884 155,148 
			 2005 Q4 205,831 168,947 n/a 136,560 173,282 250,602 213,238 192,808 156,883 
			   
			 2006 Q1 202,820 163,427 n/a 129,269 171,726 250,301 210,681 190,580 152,807 
			 2006 Q2 209,807 173,390 n/a 138,928 182,122 260,904 218,772 199,413 161,460 
			 2006 Q3 223,501 178,634 n/a 143,697 191,254 280,295 231,620 210,529 167,446 
			 2006 Q4 220,650 177,396 n/a 142,582 186,646 273,804 230,904 206,983 167,528 
			   
			 2007 Q1 221,875 176,712 n/a 137,480 188,534 273,962 232,936 201,877 162,346 
			 2007 Q2 225,685 183,677 n/a 141,859 193,885 282,244 238,355 208,782 170,420 
			 2007 Q3 238,879 189,427 n/a 149,326 204,441 304,244 255,927 219,738 178,778 
			 2007 Q4 234,980 187,330 n/a 150,279 201,278 297,867 249,325 217,137 175,379 
			   
			 2008 Q1 232,201 181,992 n/a 144,810 198,520 291,948 240,071 210,476 168,071 
			 2008 Q2 229,650 179,847 n/a 147,854 193,347 291,508 239,604 211,064 173,560 
			 2008 Q3 234,433 184,482 n/a 152,222 204,143 305,653 247,514 216,608 173,501 
			 2008 Q4 211,467 170,959 n/a 137,585 187,229 272,499 227,352 202,153 165,139 
			   
			 2009 Q1 205,144 162,775 n/a 130,340 176,118 251,756 213,573 189,049 150,704 
			 2009 Q2 205,707 166,121 n/a 135,332 178,246 259,753 218,146 191,556 156,380 
			  Source: Land Registry. Local authorities that are classed as rural under the DEFRA rural codes have been included and local authorities classed as Urban by DEFRA have been filtered out. Data for 2009 Q2 are provisional.

Housing: Research

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when the report of research undertaken by Heriot Watt University into housing supply and future housing need was presented to his Department; and when he expects the report to be published;
	(2)  how much his Department has paid to Heriot Watt University to undertake its research into housing supply and future housing need.

Ian Austin: The Department received a first draft report of the housing need research commissioned from Heriot-Watt University in October 2009. The report will be finalised after academic peer review. A publication timetable has not yet been fixed.
	The cost of this research project is expected to be £163,256. To date, the Department has paid Heriot-Watt University £146,458.

Housing: Sprinkler Systems

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the merits of installing sprinklers in new build  (a) homes and  (b) flats.

Ian Austin: The use of sprinklers and other fire suppression technologies in dwellings was considered in the review that lead to the 2006 revision of Approved Document B. This document provides guidance on compliance with Part B (Fire safety) of the Building Regulations. The extensive review that preceded the development of this new guidance considered a four year research project looking at the issue from both an effectiveness and cost/benefit perspective.
	Sprinklers have been shown to be an effective measure in reducing fire deaths. However, the review, which included public consultation, concluded that it would not be cost-effective to provide sprinklers in all new homes but that it would be reasonable to provide them in blocks of flats over 30 metres in height where the risks were shown to be greater. A provision to this effect was, therefore, included in the revised Approved Document.

Local Government

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press release of 7 December 2009, what other sources of data will be used to produce the report on the nation's civic health; which Department has lead responsibility for that report; what the budget is for that programme; and whether he plans to commission new research for that report.

Barbara Follett: The full list of data sources for the Civic Health report is still under consideration by the Department of Communities and Local Government (which has lead responsibility for its production). The budget for the programme is dependent on the exact nature of the report and is consequently undetermined at this stage. Nonetheless, the report will not require the collection of new data and so should prove relatively inexpensive to compile.

Local Government Finance: Emergency Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the assumed share of the council tax base for the purposes of the local government finance settlement was for  (a) police services and  (b) fire and rescue services in each year since 1997-98.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the share of council tax base used in calculating an authority's share of formula grant for each of the four tiers of authorities from 1997-98 to date.
	
		
			   Share of council tax base 
			   Upper-tier services  Police services  Fire and rescue services  Lower-tier services 
			 1997-98 0.758669681 0.080168570 0.032113754 0.129047995 
			 1998-99 0.766520068 0.076204156 0.031550096 0.125725680 
			 1999-2000 0.768727795 0.075652314 0.031170922 0.124448969 
			 2000-01 0.772332753 0.074372718 0.030934777 0.122359752 
			 2001-02 0.769879048 0.075528699 0.031166754 0.123425499 
			 2002-03 0.766842457 0.074921464 0.031854515 0.126381564 
			 2003-04 0.70233379 0.08491934 0.03773994 0.17500693 
			 2004-05 0.7040995 0.0876150 0.0367455 0.1715400 
			 2005-06 0.7127738 0.0863271 0.0358011 0.1650980 
			 2006-07 0.72103328 0.08672247 0.03378238 0.15846187 
			 2007-08 0.72012056 0.08707602 0.03432392 0.15847951 
			 2008-09 0.701408590 0.094044500 0.036637434 0.167909476 
			 2009-10 0.711867721 0.091344847 0.034972733 0.161814699 
			 2010-11 0.722079958 0.088692078 0.033356743 0.155871221 
		
	
	During the period 1997-98 to 2002-03, the shares of council tax base were set on the basis of national shares of total standard spending assessments for the services that each provides, using the control totals set out in annex E of the Local Government Finance Report (England) for that year.
	In addition, during the period 1997-98 to 1999-2000, the figures for inner London boroughs and the receiver for the Metropolitan police district were adjusted to allow for expenditure on probation and magistrates courts.
	From 2003-04 onwards, the shares of council tax base have been set so that the percentage increase in grant for each damping group of authorities is broadly proportional to the under lying percentage increase in formula spending share/relative needs formula for that group. In 2003-04, the resulting shares for shire county councils and shire district councils in two-tier areas were adjusted to reflect in part the combined impact of raising the assumed national council tax from about £769.16 for 2002-03 to about £1,037.46 for 2003-04 on the distribution of council tax income for these two groups of authorities are taken together.

Mortgages

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many buy-to-let mortgages in each region have defaulted on their mortgage repayments in each of the last 10 quarters.

Ian Austin: The Council of Mortgage Lenders collects and publishes data on the numbers of buy-to-let mortgages that are in arrears. However these data are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in  (a) Ashford constituency and  (b) Kent have taken up the Homeowners Mortgage Protection Scheme.

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households have received financial support under the  (a) Mortgage Rescue Scheme and  (b) Mortgage Homeowner Support Scheme in each local authority to date.

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency have received assistance through the Mortgage Protection Scheme.

John Healey: We have acted rapidly in conjunction with lenders and money advice agencies to put in place a range of help and support for households struggling with their mortgage at every stage, and launched a campaign to ensure households have clear information about the help available. Most borrowers experiencing difficulties are able to agree a solution with their lender. In addition, the Government schemes provide a valuable backstop for those people who need further support. Over the last year over 330,000 homeowners have received help and advice with their mortgage.
	Financial Services Authority figures show that in quarter 2 of this year 135,000 households were benefiting from an arrangement agreed with their lender, an increase of 74 per cent. on the previous year.
	The proportion of the mortgage market now committed to offering the Government-backed scheme or similarly extended forbearance without the need for Government guarantee is now more than 90 per cent. UK wide management information collected from these lenders and money advice agencies show:
	Over 33,000 loans were benefiting from extended forbearance where lenders were accepting less than contractual monthly payments or where loans had been modified to make monthly payments more affordable for the borrower;
	6,000 of these loans were deferring interest as part of an arrangement equivalent to the Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme, and only 15 have so far needed the formal backstop of HMS and have been registered for the Government-backed guarantee following the five-month qualification period.
	Mortgage Rescue Scheme summary monitoring statistics are published on a quarterly basis on the Department's website. Figures can be accessed using the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/mortgagerescuestatistics
	Quarterly figures reported by local authorities from January to September 2009 are provided in a table which has been placed in the Library.

Multiple Occupation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many indicators and datasets councils must submit to his Department as part of the Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation regime; with what frequency; and for what reasons that data is not included in the National Indicator set.

Ian Austin: The Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation collects 31 data items in one dataset. Local authorities are asked to provide data once a quarter. These data are collected to monitor the 2004 Housing Act and were not intended to be part of the National Indicator set.

Recycling

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities are making facilities available for the recycling of Christmas trees in 2009.

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA does not hold the information requested. The Government believe local authorities are better placed to make decisions on the best waste management strategy for their local area, so they do not direct or interfere in the decisions they make. This includes the facilities local authorities make available for recycling Christmas trees. It does however, encourage local authorities to consult extensively with residents, to ensure their opinions and preferences are taken into consideration.

Regional Planning and Development

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the effect of the removal of the needs test in planning guidance on levels of out-of-town development.

Ian Austin: Annex A to the impact assessment of the draft Proposed Changes to Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres, which we published for consultation in July 2008, sets out our assessment of the effects of removal of the need test on levels of out-of-town development.

Sheltered Housing

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to ensure that sheltered housing residents are consulted on any changes proposed by service providers; what sanctions are available to his Department in respect of service providers who do not consult residents prior to taking decisions on changes to service provision; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: Changes to services provided under the Supporting People programme, including in sheltered housing, are a matter for the individual local authority concerned. However we have made clear that any changes should only be implemented after meaningful consultation with residents.
	CLG does not impose sanctions on providers of services as it is local authorities which have a contract with providers, not CLG. However, CLG have developed a framework, called the Quality Assessment framework (QAF) whereby authorities are able to measure the standard of the services which are being delivered to service users. To meet the necessary standard the service must take account of service user views.
	In response to concerns raised about changes to sheltered housing services, Lord McKenzie chairs a ministerial working group which will produce guidance to providers and commissioners on consultation and engagement with residents, and a complaints guide to make residents more aware of how best to raise concerns they may have.

Social Rented Housing: Insurance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on reviewing his Department's guidance Insurance for All: A good practice guide for providers of social housing.

Ian Austin: The document 'Insurance for All: a good practice guide for providers of social Housing' was published by the Housing Corporation in April 2001. Revision of the document was one of four recommendations on insurance in Sir Michael Pitt's review of the summer of 2007 floods which the Government accepted.
	Six monthly reports on the progress of the recommendations accepted by the Government are available on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/risk/floodreview2007.htm
	The latest report is currently being finalised and will be published shortly.

Supporting People Programme

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to promote best practice by local authorities in the provision of services under the Supporting People programme.

Ian Austin: CLG have developed a Supporting People Quality Assessment framework (QAF) and a Supporting People Outcomes framework. The QAF enables local authorities to measure the standard of the services which are being delivered to service users and the Outcomes Framework shows the benefits attained by individuals of using the services. CLG will continue to promote the use of both the QAF and Outcomes Framework in the procurement and delivery of Supporting People services.
	In addition CLG have convened a Supporting People Transition Board to support the sector, including local authorities, to deliver the Supporting People programme in an un-ringfenced environment.

Travelling People: Republic of Ireland

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the rate of migration of Travellers to the United Kingdom from the Republic of Ireland; and whether any assessment has been made of the effect of the new criminal trespass laws in the Republic in affecting migration patterns.

Shahid Malik: A common travel area is in place between the United Kingdom and Ireland, and therefore no record is kept of the movement of particular ethnic groups between the two countries.
	Communities and Local Government publish data twice yearly on the number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England. Recent data does not indicate any unexpected increases in the number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans.

Boilers

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the number of inefficient domestic boilers in  (a) public and  (b) private housing; and how long he estimates it will take to replace them under the proposed scrappage scheme.

Joan Ruddock: We estimate that there are about 4.5 million domestic boilers which are G-rated or worse. While we do not hold sufficient information to say what percentage are in social housing or private housing stock, an analysis of the English Housing Condition Survey suggests social housing is less likely to contain G-rated boilers, following years of investment under programmes such as Decent Homes. The Greener Boiler Incentive will provide £400 for up to 125,000 homes who seek to replace working G rated Boilers with more efficient heating technologies. In addition Building Regulations require broken boilers to be replaced with more efficient boilers. Currently 1.5 million boilers a year are replaced.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its predecessors have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008, and its official corporate website:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/
	was launched on 23 February 2009. There has been no requirement for a redesign since the launch.
	There have been redesigns on the following websites that are also administered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change:
	http://www.actonco2.direct.gov.uk/actonco2/home.html
	(ActOnCO2)
	(The website development costs are shared between Department of Transport and DECC. The cost to DECC was £25,820. Completed: October 2009)
	http://chp.decc.gov.uk/cms/
	(CHP Focus-Combined Heat and Power)
	(Cost: £7,500. Completed: Sept 2009)
	http://www.chpqa.com/
	(Quality assurance for Combined Heat and Power)
	(Cost: £7,500. Completed: December 2009)
	http://mrws.decc.gov.uk/
	(Managing Radioactive Waste Safely)
	(Cost: £6,500. Completed: September 2009)
	www.planningrenewables.org.uk
	(Planning Renewables Website)
	(Cost: £46,000. Completed: March 2009)
	www.renewables-advisory-board.org.uk
	(The Renewables Advisory Board (RAB)
	(Cost: £6,000. Completed: August 2007)
	www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home
	(Low Carbon Building Programme)
	(Cost: £15,000. Completed: July 2009)
	http://www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk
	(Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2)
	(Cost: £20,000. Completed: July 2009)
	www.bigenergyshift.org.uk
	(Big Energy Shift)
	(Cost: £68,000. Completed: August 2009)
	www.decc.gov.uk/offsetting
	The UK Government's Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting)
	(Cost: £6,000. Completed: September 2009)
	http://www.leos.le.ac.uk/AATSR/
	(AATSR-University of Leicester science and validation website)
	(Cost: £6,300. Completed: September 2009)

Departmental Official Hospitality

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the purposes was of the reception held by his Department on 10 November 2009; how many guests were invited; how many attended; and what the cost was.

Joan Ruddock: The reception was held to support the communication of the UK's objectives in the run up to the UN negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen in December.
	158 guests were invited. We do not have a record of the exact number who attended. The cost was £3,122.72

Energy Supply: Cybercrime

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will consider the merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for a mandatory duty for energy utility companies to report breaches in their cyber-security to Ministers.

David Kidney: Existing good practice is that a cyber security breach resulting in a loss or compromise of customers' details would be reported to the Office of the Information Commissioner. DECC works closely with other areas of Government (notably the Office of Cyber Security (OCS) and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI)) to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in the national infrastructure that could be exploited by cyber threats, and to share best practice across the CNI.
	If a cyber security breach impacts an energy utility company's operational capability leading to security of supply concerns, I have existing procedures (including my Department's emergency response plans) and existing powers (including, where appropriate, emergency powers under the Energy Act 1976) to intervene.

Energy: Conservation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the budget is of the Community Energy Savings Programme; and which organisations will coordinate the associated community energy assessors.

Joan Ruddock: We expect the energy companies to deliver around £350 million worth of energy efficiency measures in discharging their obligations under the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP).
	The obligated energy companies are responsible for the energy advice delivered under CESP. Such advice must be delivered in accordance with the CESP Order and Ofgem's supporting CESP guidance.

Energy: Housing

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Home Heat helpline; and whether his Department collects data on the uptake of home energy support benefits in each constituency.

Joan Ruddock: The Home Heat Helpline is run through the Energy Retail Association and is funded by the energy suppliers. Spend by suppliers on the Home Heat Helpline is reported on and monitored by Ofgem under the voluntary agreement between suppliers and the Government for spending on programmes of social assistance. Ofgem's latest report is available online at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?docid=263refer=Sustainability/SocAction/Suppliers/CSR
	The DECC-funded Warm Front Scheme, which operates in England only, provides a range of energy saving measures to applicants in receipt of certain passports benefits. Eaga plc, the scheme manager, gather performance data by region, local authority area and constituency on behalf of the Department.
	Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, and devolved Governments collect their own data.
	The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) is a GB-wide obligation that requires the big six energy suppliers to report measures installed to the regulator, Ofgem. Measures installed are reported at GB level and no information on where this is occurs is currently kept. To address this deficiency, the Government are negotiating a voluntary agreement with the energy suppliers for them to report the installation of measures into the Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED) managed by the Energy Saving Trust, and it is hoped to conclude these negotiations shortly.

Energy: Meters

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many domestic energy customers in each  (a) constituency and  (b) local authority area use pre-payment meters.

David Kidney: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about gas and electricity prepayment customers. However, data is not collected on a parliamentary constituency or local authority basis. In June 2009, the last period for which data has been published, the number of customers in Great Britain using prepayment meters was 2,464,377 for gas and 3,698,628 for electricity. In Scotland, the number of customers using prepayment meters was 242,688 for gas and 476,794 for electricity.

Fuel Poverty

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households living in fuel poverty in  (a) Chesterfield constituency,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England.

David Kidney: The most available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2006, and shows that there were around 4,900 fuel poor households in the Chesterfield constituency and around 54,500 fuel poor households in the county of Derbyshire.
	Most recent figures are available for England. These show that in 2007, there were around 2.8 million fuel poor households in England.

Gas and Electricity Markets Authority: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what payments Ofgem has made to Finsbury in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract governing those payments.

David Kidney: Ofgem made the following payments to Finsbury for communications related activities:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total paid  (£) 
			 2002-03 29,006.16 
			 2003-04 62,067.47 
			 2004-05 11,308.36 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 0 
			 Total 102,381.99 
		
	
	The Department does not hold any information on the commercial contract between Ofgem and Finsbury. I have therefore asked Ofgem's chief executive to write to you direct.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

David Kidney: Ofgem does not record specific information on expenditure on hotel accommodation but it does publish annual information on overall travel and subsistence expenditure. Over the last five years, its expenditure on travel and subsistence has been as follows:
	
		
			  Period  Expenditure (£000) 
			 2004-05 504 
			 2005-06 689 
			 2006-07 771 
			 2007-08 603 
			 2008-09 603 
		
	
	I have liaised with Ofgem over this reply. As it explains, Ofgem do not record specific information about hotel costs. This reply draws on information published in Ofgem's annual resource account statements which are available through its website.

Solar Power

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons his Department ceased to accept applications for funding for photovoltaic projects under phase two of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme on 30 November 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: In Budget 2009, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced a further £45 million for LCBP to allow for grant funding continuity up to the introduction of Green Energy Cash-backs (FITs) on 1 April 2010 and Renewable Heat Incentives (RHIs) on 1 April 2011. Technology 'pots' were created to allow for equitable support for all microgeneration technologies from the LCBP programme.
	Following consultation with the industry, an initial 'pot' of £14 million was set for Solar PV under Phase-2 of LCBP. This was subsequently increased to £18 million due to unprecedented demand.
	We currently have approximately £5.7 million worth of applications for PV being evaluated under Phase-2 and this will exhaust the total allocation for PV As a result, we closed LCBP-2 to new PV applications from 1 December 2009 in line with our discussions with industry.
	Of the £45 million announced in Budget 2009, we anticipate that we will commit over £19 million to Solar PV.
	Phase-1 which provides support for householders remains open to new applications for Solar PV until 31 March 2010.

Solar Power

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what grant assistance is available for non-domestic users of solar photovoltaic energy.

Joan Ruddock: The Low Carbon Buildings Programme will close to applications for electrical microgeneration, including Solar PV on 31 March 2010 when feed-in tariffs (FITs) will be introduced. Due to unprecedented demand, the Phase-2 scheme (non-domestic) has been closed to new Solar PV applications from 1 December 2009 as we have approximately £5.7 million worth of applications for PV waiting to be processed.
	The introduction of FIT's in April 2010 will replace the LCBP grant support for electrical generation equipment and is anticipated to further stimulate the market through a tariff mechanism.
	Grant funding will be available from the Low Carbon Communities Challenge, the choice of technology will be defined by the applicants but will include Solar PV.

Warm Front Scheme

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what monitoring process is in place to ensure the quality of work carried out under the Warm Front scheme; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: Due to the vulnerable nature of Warm Front applicants, the Scheme pays particular attention to maintaining the highest possible standards of safety, quality and customer care. As manager of the Scheme, Eaga continually monitors contractor performance using customer satisfaction surveys, with the best performing contractors receiving
	Additionally, upon completion of installation, 100 per cent. of heating and 5 per cent. on insulation installations (chosen randomly) are inspected by experienced independent engineers to ensure the necessary standards are met.
	Alongside these measures, the Department have also appointed independent quality assurors, White Young Green, to carry out six-monthly and ad hoc audits of installer performance.

Broadband

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of households have a broadband internet connection in each local authority area.

Stephen Timms: No such estimates have been made.

Broadband

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that consumers can access third party provider services via broadband services provided by regulated private companies.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 7 December 2009
	I understand that the hon. Gentleman is concerned about a specific situation in which he says access to 118 directory inquiries services is restricted by BT through their Home Hub broadband product.
	BT's Home Hub is a wireless internet router which facilitates a range of services including broadband and a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone capability. BT provides access to their own directory enquiries service (118 500) through the VoIP service and restricts access to other directory inquiries services. This restriction is limited to the Home Hub VoIP service as customers can access other 118 numbers through their normal BT phone, or by prefixing the number with five when using their VoIP phone to access their PTSN line. Users are also free to access 118 services through the internet.
	A recent Significant Market Power (SMP) review by Ofcom found that call origination for Voice over Broadband (VoB) calls is not the same market as wholesale call origination on a narrowband network and as such, BT are within their rights to restrict access to other directory inquiries services.
	Ofcom have recognised that as VoIP/VoB services develop and increase in significance they may need to re-examine their judgment and possibly include VoIP/VoB calls in BT's end to end connectivity obligation. In the mean time, the Department and Ofcom are keen to encourage commercial negotiation between BT and the affected service providers to find a resolution to this ongoing dispute.

Business: Eastbourne

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) small,  (b) medium-sized and  (c) large businesses in Eastbourne have received funding under the Regional Loans Transition Fund scheme since the scheme was established.

Rosie Winterton: Regional Transition Loan Funds were established by the Regional Development Agencies as a time limited measure while national instruments such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme were put in place. In the SEEDA region the Transition Fund provides loans of up to £150,000 for SMEs that are facing liquidity issues arising from the adverse financial credit squeeze. The Transition Fund is financed by SEEDA and managed by Finance South East. One business in Eastbourne has applied for funding under this scheme since it was established. This application was turned down as it did not meet the eligibility criteria. For comparison, in the SEEDA region over the same period, 141 businesses enquired about these loans, 27 businesses were offered funding and 20 have so far received funding, of which two are based in East Sussex. In those circumstances where companies did not meet the criteria a range of advice through the Business Link network has been made available, such as business health checks. Over 95,000 businesses have benefited from this service to date across England, including 17,851 in the South East.

Business: Government Assistance

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in each  (a) parliamentary constituency,  (b) local authority area and  (c) Government Office region had received funding under the (i) Enterprise Finance Guarantee, (ii) Working Capital, (iii) Trade Credit Insurance Guarantee, (iv) Capital for Enterprise Fund and (v) Automotive Assistance Programme scheme on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The reporting structure for each scheme differs in terms of the availability of information at constituency, local authority, and regional levels.
	The Enterprise Finance Guarantee is a temporary loan guarantee scheme aimed at facilitating additional bank lending to viable small and medium sized enterprises. Decision-making on individual loans is fully delegated to participating lenders and is done on commercial grounds.
	Figures on the Enterprise Finance Guarantee are available at constituency and at local authority level, a copy of which shall be deposited in the Library of the House. For brevity, following are figures for the number and value of loans offered and drawn within each region as of 26 November.
	
		
			  Region  Number of new loans offered to customer  Total value of offered loans (£ million)  Number of new loans drawn by customer  Total value of drawn loans (£ million) 
			 East Midlands 486 52.83 416 44.24 
			 East of England 757 66.97 613 54.70 
			 London 803 90.21 631 70.46 
			 North East 236 22.40 190 16.76 
			 North West 717 69.35 613 57.19 
			 South East 988 98.20 785 77.35 
			 South West 757 68.48 641 56.36 
			 West Midlands 620 62.08 522 50.72 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 444 45.16 367 36.35 
			 Wales 347 26.62 267 19.05 
			 Scotland 464 61.43 395 54.33 
			 Northern Ireland 72 13.58 56 10.41 
			 Total UK 6,691 677.29 5,496 547.93 
		
	
	Under the Working Capital Scheme, £2 billion of guarantees has been provided to two banks to free up regulatory capital for new lending to UK companies. Companies themselves do not apply for guarantees under the Working Capital Scheme (WCS) and are not aware that their loans are guaranteed under the WCS. No records are kept by parliamentary constituency or region of companies who have loans underpinned by WCS guarantees.
	As a result of action by the Government and the regulatory authorities leading to improvements in capital markets since the introduction of the WCS, the Government have been able to allocate resource provision for the WCS to other measures to support businesses.
	As of 20 November, 72 suppliers have purchased Trade Credit Insurance under the Government Top-up Scheme, in the following Government offices/constituencies. We do not analyse the information per local authority area:
	
		
			  Government Office  Constituency  Number of suppliers 
			 East Midlands Amber Valley 1 
			  Northampton South 2 
			
			 East of England Broxbourne 1 
			  Harlow 1 
			  Huntingdon 1 
			  Luton South 1 
			  Saffron Walden 1 
			  Welwyn Hatfield 1 
			
			 London Chipping Barnet 1 
			  Cities of London and Westminster 1 
			  Holborn and St Pancras 2 
			
			 North East Middlesbrough 1 
			  Redcar 1 
			  Tyne Bridge 1 
			
			 North West Altrincham and Sale West 1 
			  Birkenhead 1 
			  Bolton South East 1 
			  Burnley 1 
			  Eccles 1 
			  Heywood and Middleton 1 
			  Manchester, Blackley 1 
			
			 South East East Hampshire 1 
			  Faversham and Mid Kent 1 
			  Folkestone and Hythe 1 
			  Mole Valley 1 
			  North East Milton Keynes 1 
			  Reading West 1 
			  Richmond Park 2 
			  Sutton and Cheam 1 
			  Woking 1 
			  Wokingham 1 
			
			 South West Bristol West 1 
			  Exeter 1 
			  North Devon 1 
			  Wansdyke 1 
			
			 West Midlands Birmingham, Ladywood 2 
			  Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath 2 
			  Cannock Chase 1 
			  North Warwickshire 1 
			  Nuneaton 1 
			  South Derbyshire 1 
			  Stourbridge 1 
			  Telford 1 
			  Walsall South 2 
			  West Bromwich West 2 
			  Wolverhampton Northeast 1 
			  Wolverhampton South West 1 
			  Wyre Forest 1 
			
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Bradford North 1 
			  Cleethorpes 1 
			  Elmet 1 
			  Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 1 
			  Normanton 1 
			  Scunthorpe 1 
			  Sheffield, Attercliffe 1 
			  Shipley 1 
			  Vale of York 1 
			
			 Northern Ireland Belfast South 1 
			  East Londonderry 1 
			  Mid Ulster 1 
			
			 Scotland Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 1 
			  Ochil and South Perthshire 1 
			  Stirling 1 
			
			 Wales Islwyn 1 
			  Neath 1 
			
			 Total - 72 
		
	
	As of 26 November, with respect to £75 million Capital for Enterprise Fund equity scheme, the appointed fund managers have so far made offers totalling £68.2 million to 44 businesses. 11 businesses have accepted the terms of the funding offered with a total value of £17.9 million. The fund managers continue due diligence on these, and the further proposals that have been put forward. Eight businesses have received investment totalling £12.2 million, two based in the East Midlands, one in London, Two in Scotland, two in the South East and one in Yorkshire and Humber. I am not providing a breakdown by parliamentary constituency or local authority as this could make it possible to identify the individual companies that have received support.
	With regard the Automotive Assistance Programme, on 18 September 2009, BIS announced the offer of a £10 million loan to Tata Motors European Technical Centre to support £25 million of investment in the Coventry area to develop and manufacture electric vehicles in the UK.

Electric Cables: Standards

David Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to protect the public from the risks posed by installation of electrical cables which do not meet approved standards.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Where examples of electrical cables which do not meet the recognised approved standards are reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the matter is investigated by inspectors who enforce, among other supply legislation, the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 (EESR). Inspectors have the power to prohibit further supply of electrical cables whose foreseeable use represents a risk of serious harm to persons. Where defective products are already in the supply chain action can be taken to require suppliers to warn and advise their customers.
	Examples of defective electric cables imported from Asia are currently under investigation. More generally, inspectors will shortly be carrying out an exercise to examine samples of cables in use on construction sites in the UK. Depending on the findings, besides prohibiting the supply and use of any found to be seriously defective, HSE will propose a wider market surveillance project to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the supply of cables into the industrial and domestic market.

Freight

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report, column 982W, on freight, if he will break down by mode of transport the number of road freight companies which have  (a) become insolvent, ( b) ceased trading for other reasons and  (c) been started up in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Lucas: Further to the answer of 3 December 2009, in answer to part  (a), The Insolvency Service do not currently collect or maintain a record of figures at the level of detail below Land Transport. The figures provided in the answer of the 3 December are the most detailed available to answer part  (a).
	At the most detailed level of classification, the freight transport by road industry is identifiable. However, it is not possible to distinguish the mode of transport within this standard industrial classification.
	Responsibility for statistics relating to business start-ups and closures (births and deaths) has moved from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Tables 1 and 2 record statistics received from the ONS in response to  (b) and  (c) above. These represent those figures which are both readily available and most similar in coverage to the figures for insolvencies, but they should not be treated as being entirely consistent and, in particular, the ONS' figures will include some businesses that are not registered companies.
	
		
			  Table 1: (b) Business deaths in the land transport industry., England and Wales 
			  6024  Freight transport by road  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Total 3,365 3,680 3,685 3,490 3,245 3,190 3,085 
			  Note: The population base includes all those businesses which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, rather than registered companies.  Source: ONS 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: (c). Business births in the land transport industry, England and Wales 
			  6024  Freight transport by road  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Total 3,195 3,375 3,240 3,275 2,825 3,195 2,985 
			  Note: The population base includes all those businesses which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, rather than registered companies.  Source: ONS

Higher Education: Lewes

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people from Lewes constituency became full-time undergraduate students in each year from 2002-03 to 2007-08; and how many such people  (a) were from and  (b) had parents from each socio-economic group.

David Lammy: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency is shown in the following table.
	Figures are provided for full-time undergraduate entrants aged under 21, and 21 and over, as data on socio-economic class is gathered on a different basis for these two distinct age groups. Socio-economic class is derived from information on occupation: for entrants aged under 21 this is based on the occupation of their parent, and for those aged 21 and over it is based on their own occupation.
	Figures for the 2008/09 academic year will be available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2010.
	
		
			  Full-time undergraduate entrants from Lewes constituency( 1)  by age and socio-economic classification( 2) : UK higher education institutions( 3) : academic years 2002/03 to 2007/08 
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			  Socio-economic classification  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+ 
			 Higher managerial and professional occupations 75 5 95 10 90 10 100 10 85 5 80 0 
			 Lower managerial and professional occupations 85 25 120 10 105 25 105 15 105 15 100 20 
			 Intermediate occupations 35 10 35 10 45 15 45 5 45 5 35 15 
			 Small employers and own account workers 20 0 30 5 30 5 20 5 30 5 25 5 
			 Lower supervisory and technical occupations 15 0 15 0 15 0 20 0 20 0 15 0 
			 Semi-routine occupations 20 15 25 5 15 20 20 15 15 15 20 10 
			 Routine occupations 5 5 5 5 10 0 10 5 10 5 15 5 
			 Total known 255 60 325 50 310 75 325 50 310 50 285 55 
			 Missing(4) 110 65 50 75 60 55 75 65 75 65 70 90 
			 (1) The table does not include entrants where the constituency of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid information. (2) This field collects the socio-economic classification of students participating in HE if 21 or over at the start of their course or parental classification if under 21. (3) Figures exclude the Open university due to inconsistencies in their coding of entrants across the time series. (4) Covers students whose socio-economic classification was missing, not classified or 'Never worked and long-term unemployed'.  Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, therefore components may not sum to totals.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the cost of peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material to the UK film industry in each year since 1999; if he will publish his Department's analysis upon which such an estimate is based; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government have not carried out a study into the cost of unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing to the UK film industry. However, the UK Film Council in 2006 estimated that the total cost of copyright infringement to the UK film industry to be £388 million of which digital infringement is estimated to have cost the industry £202 million. The 2007 estimates were £404 million total cost, of which digital infringement £224 million. While digital infringement will include other forms of infringement than peer-to-peer, it is likely that it will account for a large proportion of the estimated figure. In the June 2009 consultation document the IPSOS research, commissioned by industry, was included that calculated losses in 2007 from unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing to the film and television industries of £152 million.

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the cost of peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material to the UK games industry in each year since 1999; if he will publish his Department's analysis upon which such an estimate is based; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government have not carried out a study into the cost of unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing to the UK games industry. However, according to the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) in their response to the consultation on this subject published last year, for the six-month period January to June 2008 industry online monitoring of a selection of ELSPA members' games, found over 350,000 infringing video game files for the UK. Globally, the monitoring of those games found over 11 million infringing video game files.

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have held with representatives from (i) the Federation Against Copyright Theft, (ii) the British recorded music industry and (iii) the Open rights Group in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: Ministers and officials from the Department have held numerous meetings in the last 12 months with the Federation Against Copyright Theft, the British Recorded Music Industry and the Open Rights Group.

Post Offices

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post offices in  (a) urban and  (b) rural areas in each region Post Office Ltd. has identified for closure in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Government have said that it will not support a further programme of post office closures so no post offices have been identified for future closure. However, neither the Government nor POL can prevent the closure of individual post offices where, for example, a sub-postmaster decides to retire or resign and a replacement cannot be found. The Government's access criteria will continue to apply across the UK.
	We are providing up to £1.7 billion to 2011 to support a network of around 11,500 branches; this includes a £150 million annual social network payment to support non-commercial sub-post offices, in urban as well as rural areas, from April 2008. We also recognise that there will be a continuing need for network support payments beyond 2011.

Post Offices: Information and Communications Technology

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely savings to the Exchequer consequent on the implementation of the new Post Office Horizon system.

Patrick McFadden: In 2007, the Government agreed a business plan with the Post Office for the period to March 2011. This was linked to the funding of up to £1.7 billion which the Government are providing to the Post Office over that period. The business plan sets out a range of cost saving measures being undertaken by the Post Office, including upgrades to its Horizon IT system. These measures will in total provide an annual cost saving of over £200 million from 2011 and POL is on target to achieve this. POL's progress on delivering these cost savings is monitored by the Shareholder Executive.

Public Sector: Information

Mark Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the terms of reference are for his Department's Making Public Data Public initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The terms of reference for the initiative led by Sir Tim Berners-Lee OM and Professor Nigel Shadbolt are as follows:
	In the last two years the Government's work on the Power of Information has shown how the information revolution has the potential to transform Government and public services.
	The Government have accepted all of the recommendations of the Power of Information Taskforce to open up access to Government information for free re-use.
	In particular, and linked to its wider programme of Public Service Reform, the Government are committed to implementing and to extending to the wider public sector the principle that public sector information should be available under straightforward licences and in standard formats for others to re-use: the principle that public sector information should be public.
	In the next six months, Sir Tim Berners-Lee will serve in an advisory capacity to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, and he will work with Professor Nigel Shadbolt to form a panel of technical and delivery experts to oversee the rapid implementation of key recommendations, including:
	(1) Overseeing the creation of a single online point of access for all public UK datasets-and work with departments to make this part of their routine operations-with a live Beta site running by the end of the year.
	(2) Bringing forward specific proposals to implement and extend to the wider public sector the public sector information principle, including:
	helping to select and implement common standards for the release of public data
	helping to select, develop and implement common terms for that data where necessary
	developing Crown Copyright and 'Crown Commons' licenses and extending these to the wider public sector
	supporting the exploitation and publication of distributed and decentralised information assets
	looking at the potential for reform of the information regulatory framework, working with the ICO and other experts to ensure that the regulatory regime supports the proactive publication of Government information
	(3) Driving the use of the internet to improve Government consultation processes as proposed by the Taskforce and learning from the innovations already used by DIUS, the Cabinet Office and others.
	Other key areas in which Sir Tim Berners-Lee will advise the Government include:
	(4) Working with the Government to engage with the leading experts internationally working on public data and standards, and to promote international liaison and global standards setting-an investment in future international data sharing.
	(5) Helping to drive culture change in Whitehall toward an assumption of total publication for anonymous data using open standards.
	The panel will work closely with the recently-appointed Director for Digital Engagement and other officials in the Cabinet Office, the Office for Public Sector Information (part of The National Archives), and the Technology Strategy Board.

Public Sector: Information

Mark Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which public sector information holders are being considered under his Department's Making Public Data Public initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Making Public Data Public initiative has initially focussed on public sector information holders in central Government Departments and agencies. The Government consider that the same principles should be extended to all public services, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced on 7 December that Professor Nigel Shadbolt will lead a Local Public Data Panel to work with local government to release local public data.

Students: Loans

David Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people not domiciled in the UK have outstanding loans with the Student Loans Company; how many such loans are in arrears; and in respect of how many such loans no repayments were made in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: The most recent figures showing the number of borrowers not domiciled in the UK with outstanding loans and the number in arrears and not paying have been published by the Student Loans Company, and are available in the following documents on the website.
	SLC SFR 02/2009 Student Loans for Higher Education in England, Financial Year 2008-09 (Provisional) at:
	www.slc.co.uk/pdf/slcsfr022009.pdf
	Annex-Income Contingent Repayments by Repayment Cohort and Tax Year 2000/01 to 2007/08 Inclusive (Provisional) at:
	www.slc.co.uk/pdf/slcsfr022009annex.pdf
	For borrowers who are domiciled in the EU, effective collection is underpinned by EC Regulations 44/2001 which allows the SLC to obtain judgments in UK courts, which can be enforced by courts in other EU countries. Borrowers' accounts must be set up with repayment schedules and put into notional arrears in order that the SLC can inform borrowers that unless they take steps to provide income details and commence repayment where appropriate, legal action will be taken against them. This is an essential step in the overseas collection process.

Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies involved in  (a) passenger rail transport,  (b) interurban and suburban passenger land transport,  (c) urban, suburban and metropolitan area passenger transportation by underground, metro or similar systems and  (d) taxi operation have (i) become insolvent, (ii) ceased trading for other reasons and (iii) been started up in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Lucas: The Insolvency Service does not currently collect or maintain a record of figures at the level of detail requested for part (i). The lowest available industry breakdown is for Land Transport as a whole; these figures are available at:
	http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/insolv.htm
	and were also provided in the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report column 982W.
	Parts  (b) and  (c) can not be answered independently. Instead information has been provided on SIC 6021 which covers elements of both part  (b) and part  (c), and 6023 which also covers elements of part  (b).
	Responsibility for statistics relating to business start-ups and closures (births and deaths) has moved from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data recorded as follows are the record statistics received from the ONS in response to  (b) and  (c) above. These represent those figures which are both readily available and most similar in coverage to the figures for insolvencies, but they should not be treated as being entirely consistent and, in particular, the ONS' figures will include some businesses that are not registered companies.
	 Part (ii) Deaths
	
		
			  (a) Passenger rail transport (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6010 Transport via railways 5 15 15 10 5 15 10 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) interurban and suburban passenger land transport and (c) urban, suburban and metropolitan area passenger transportation by underground, metro or similar systems(England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6021 Other scheduled passenger land transport 130 170 145 165 115 140 125 
			 
			 6023 Other passenger land transport 215 300 330 285 235 265 245 
		
	
	
		
			  (d) taxi operation (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6022 Taxi operation 835 855 870 1025 900 965 970 
		
	
	 Part (iii) Births
	
		
			  (a) Passenger rail transport (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6010 Transport via railways 15 25 10 15 10 5 15 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Interurban and suburban passenger land transport and (c) urban, suburban and metropolitan area passenger transportation by underground, metro or similar systems(England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6021 Other scheduled passenger land transport 115 110 145 175 155 140 135 
			 
			 6023 Other passenger land transport 340 375 305 275 265 250 290 
		
	
	
		
			  (d) taxi operation (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6022 Taxi operation 975 1200 1835 1335 1275 1280 950 
			  Source:  ONS The population base includes all those businesses which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, rather than registered companies. It should be noted that the above figures are inclusive of insolvencies; it is not possible to separate these out.